You guys!

Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and alerts!

Also, thank you to Themuse19 for the shout out.

Before you read this you should now I've made a time jump of six years between this chapter and the last. It's now 2020, Emma is 8, Kurt 32 and Blaine 25.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 2

"Emma!" Kurt shook his head as he jogged through the house. "Where are you?" He was late; he needed to leave five minutes ago if he wanted to make it to the appointment on time, but here he was, still at his house, looking for his daughter. It was his eight-year-old's new favorite game, hiding at the most crucial of times. "Emma!"

"Boo!"

He jumped a few inches and turned around, his hands on his hips and a scold on his face. "Emma! I told you to wait in the living room. We need to leave right away."

"I don't want to go to the doctor," the girl pouted.

"I know, Sweetheart, but we need to. You need to get regular check-ups to make sure you're okay."

Emma sighed loudly but turned around and wheeled toward the front door with Kurt close behind her. He swiftly helped her into the car and placed her wheelchair in the trunk before getting in himself. "Are you buckled in?"

"You did it yourself, Papa," she retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"Just making sure," Kurt murmured under his breath as he started the engine. He checked his daughter in the rearview mirror one last time, making sure she was secure, before backing out of the driveway. "Hey, once we're done at the doctor, we can go for ice cream. Does that sound like fun?"

Emma shrugged noncommittally and turned to look out of the window. Kurt sighed inwardly as he drove. She was loathing these doctor visits more and more lately, but they weren't decreasing anytime soon, he feared. She had had kidney problems since she was born, not an uncommon complication with Spina children. One kidney had failed shortly after her birth, and a few months ago, the other had started malfunctioning. So far they'd been able to stabilize it with medication, but since she was so tired lately, the doctor had insisted on monthly check-ups to keep a close eye on her.

Kurt had been monitoring her catheterization, and he'd noticed she seemed to have a lot less urine these days. He knew she still drank more than enough, so he was sufficiently worried. If her second kidney was failing… well, he didn't want to think about that yet.

"Can I get raspberry?"

"What?" He shook his head to wake up from his musings and caught his daughter's eye through the rear-view mirror.

"Can I get raspberry ice cream?"

Kurt smiled and nodded. "Of course."

…

"I'm sorry," Dr. Jane shook her head as she looked at Kurt and Emma sitting in front of her. "I've got the result from last week's test, and it's not looking good."

"No?" Kurt bit his lip and swallowed. He grabbed his daughter's hand and squeezed it softly. "Do we need to change her medication again?"

Dr. Jane smiled sympathetically at him. "I'm afraid that won't do her any good. Her second kidney is barely working at 20% now."

Kurt gasped and closed his eyes. This had been what he was afraid of. It had been discussed briefly a few months back, but she had reacted well to the medication, so he had pushed it to the back of his mind.

"We're gonna need to start with dialyses, and we need to put her on the donor list."

"What's a dialyses?" Emma looked at her father with wide, wondering eyes.

"You remember when we discussed your kidneys a while back?" Kurt asked softly. She nodded. "Remember I told you only one of your kidneys worked, and you needed to take the medication to help it work properly?"

"The medication isn't working properly anymore. The dialyses is a machine that's gonna help your kidneys to do their work properly until we can find a new kidney for you, one that is capable of doing the work," the doctor continued.

She cocked her head to the side. "I need a new kidney?"

Dr. Jane nodded.

"Oh." She shrugged. "That's it? Can we go for ice cream now?"

Kurt chuckled and smiled at her, pressing a kiss against her temple. "In a minute. Why don't you go to the waiting room to color while the doctor and I discuss the details, okay?"

"Okay," Emma replied as she wheeled backwards and turned around.

"She's very independent and strong," the doctor noted, as she watched the girl open the door and wheel through it swiftly.

Kurt nodded and closed his eyes. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," Dr. Jane opened her file. "Last month her kidney was still working at 65%, and now it's barely 20%. We need to make an appointment to place a catheter later this week and start the dialyses as soon as possible."

"How… how often? Will she need to miss a lot of school?" Kurt asked, his voice trembling.

"We're gonna start with twice a week, Monday and Thursday afternoon. Hopefully we'll find a matching donor quickly." She seemed to hesitate.

"What?"

"I… often, in cases like this, one of the parents is able to donate a kidney. A healthy person only needs one kidney."

"I can give her one of my kidneys?" Kurt's eyes widened. "That's great. I'll do it! When can we plan the operation?"

Dr. Jane shook her head. "I'm afraid it won't be that easy. You're not her biological father. We'd need to check your blood type to see if you match."

"Oh," Kurt slumped back in his seat.

"She's blood type B. Ideally, you'd need to also be type B, but we can also use you if you're type O or AB. I can take some blood to test you, if you want."

Kurt nodded. He'd give both his kidneys if that meant his daughter could live properly.

…

Kurt cursed himself. Of course he had type A blood, the one that wasn't compatible with his daughter at all. He looked at Emma, who was lying on the couch, watching a movie. She'd gone to her first dialyses today, and the girl was exhausted. His heart broke as he saw her eyes droop closed. When he'd told his parents the news, both Burt and Carole had immediately offered to help, but neither was an eligible donor due to their age. She needed a kidney from a young person, a kidney that could last her years. She was placed on a waiting list, but the doctor had told him it could take up to five years before they'd find a donor for her.

He had briefly considered asking Chandler, but he hadn't spoken his ex-husband in years. They'd had a huge fight when Kurt decided to move from New York back to Lima so he'd have his parents to support him. Chandler had accused him of keeping Emma away from him on purpose. Kurt had tried to explain he needed someone to help him, someone he trusted, and he couldn't do it on his own in New York, but Chandler had refused to listen. At first he had flown back and forth regularly to visit Emma, but over the years the visits had changed to phone calls and later to cards on Christmas and her birthday. Somewhere down the line Emma had started to call him Chandler instead of Daddy, and Kurt had never corrected her. They were strangers to each other, so why would Chandler be willing to donate a kidney to her?

Kurt sighed as he looked down at the letter in front of him. Over the years he had written several letters to Emma's biological father, Blaine. He had always stayed positive in his letters, saying how she was doing at school, sending him pictures every now and then; he didn't want the boy to worry. He laughed humorlessly to himself at that. This Blaine probably wasn't a boy anymore, even if he saw him like that in his head: a seventeen year old faceless boy with a head of black curls, just like Emma's. He had said in his letter that he was 17 when Emma was born, so that should make him 25 by now. A young man, maybe married and with children of his own by now. Kurt's eyes widened. A young, hopefully healthy man. Who was Emma's biological father.

He grabbed the envelope and stared at the address he'd written a dozen times over the years. "Westerville, Ohio," he whispered. It was only a two-hour drive from Lima, where he and Emma lived. He shook his head. He's gotten this address when Emma was born; maybe this Blaine didn't even live in Westerville anymore. Kurt had written letters, but he'd never put a return address on them, leaving Blaine with no way to contact him. What if he had moved, and the letters he had written over the years were thrown in the garbage can by the new residents of the house? But he had to try. It was for his daughter. Maybe he could contact this Blaine, and convince him to help them. Even if he didn't live there anymore, maybe the new residents knew where he had moved to. He had to try for his daughter. The boy who had written him all these years ago had seemed to be genuinely concerned for Emma.

"Papa?"

Kurt's head shot up, his heart aching at the exhaustion in her voice.

"Can I go to bed?"

"Of course," Kurt nodded as he walked toward the couch. "You want me to carry you?"

She nodded and closed her eyes again. "I need to go to the bathroom first. I need to do the cathing before I go to sleep."

"How about we do it in your room? Like we used to when you where younger? I'll help you tonight."

She nodded and held up her arms so Kurt could carry her. He carefully laid her on her bed and helped her change into her pajamas. He grabbed the catheter and everything he needed for the catheterization and did the motions almost automatically. It had been a while, Emma usually did it herself these days, but he was still fluent at it. He had done it five times every day until she turned six and was taught to do it herself. He finished quickly and tucked the covers close around her body. He pressed a kiss against her cheek and stroked her black curls for a moment. He hated how tired she was. He hated how it wore her out. He just wanted to curl her up against his body and keep her safe from everything. It wasn't fair. He needed to find this Blaine, and convince him to help them, because he didn't want to see his daughter suffer like this for the next few years.

…

A few days later Kurt pulled up at the address in Westerville. He had asked his parents to look after Emma for the day, and after hearing the reason, they quickly agreed. He was nervous. What if this Blaine had changed his mind and didn't want anything to do with him? Or even worse, with Emma?

The house in front of him was on the large side, with a big front lawn and a driveway. Kurt had parked his car at the side of the road and was walking slowly to the front door. He hoped somebody was home. He hadn't thought about that before, but when he didn't see a car in the driveway he started to worry. He guessed he could wait for a while, but he wanted to get back home at a decent hour so he could put Emma to bed himself.

He nervously rang the doorbell and took a calming breath when he heard noises from inside the house. A woman who looked to be in her sixties opened the door and peered curiously at him. "Yes?"

"Uhm, hi!" Kurt extended his hand. "I'm Kurt. Kurt Hummel."

She stared at him with a frown on her face. "Okay?"

Kurt dropped his hand and nervously clasped his hands together in front of him. "I… Does Blaine Anderson live here?"

"That's my son," the woman answered. "Why?"

Kurt closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief. At least Blaine was still here. "Can I, can I speak to him, please?"

The woman blinked. "He doesn't live here anymore, he's moved to New York years ago. Are you a friend of his?"

"Uhm, no, not really. He… uhm," Kurt's heart fell. Blaine was in New York, not here, but surely his mother would understand and give him Blaine's address if he explained why needed it, right? "I… I'm Kurt Hummel, and I… my daughter, Emma, she's uhm… I adopted her, almost 8 years ago."

"Oh," the woman's eyes widened as she seemed to realize who Kurt was.

"Can I maybe have Blaine's address? Or a phone number, so I can contact him?"

"No." The woman shook her head, determined.

"Please, Ma'am. I really need to speak to Blaine. It's about Emma. It's really important."

"Look, Kurt. My son decided to give his daughter up for adoption years ago. It was a closed adoption, and that's it. No contact. I don't even agree with these letters you've been sending for years."

"But, Blaine asked for those letters," Kurt tried to explain. He was so close now; he needed to get Blaine's address or a way to contact him. "Please, I… I wouldn't just ask for no reason."

"I'm gonna ask you to leave now, and not come here again, or I'll contact the adoption agency and report you."

"Please, ma'am," Kurt pleaded. "Just hear me out. I promise you'll understand once I explain."

"And you can stop sending those letters as well. I've stopped forwarding them to Blaine years ago. Goodbye." The woman closed the door in Kurt's face and left the man standing there, speechless. She didn't even give him time to explain. All he found out was that Blaine lived in New York. He almost had to laugh at the irony of that. That was where he had spent the first years of Emma's live together with Chandler. He might have even bumped into Blaine on several occasions without realizing it.

He sighed and slowly turned around to walk back to his car. He had noticed the name on the front door read Anderson, another thing he hadn't known before. Unfortunately Anderson was quite a popular last name. There were probably a dozen Blaine Andersons in New York, but he had to try.

"Hello?"

Kurt was standing at his car, trying to control his tears, when he heard someone call his name. A man who looked around his own age was running down the street and stopped next to him.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I overheard you talking to my mom," the man said hurriedly. "I wasn't sure what I heard, and I doubt it's about what I think it is- I have the habit of blowing things out of proportion- but I had to make sure."

"Blaine?" Kurt frowned at the man standing before him. He was tall (and handsome, Kurt had to admit), he had brown hair that was styled in a perfect coif, and he looked older than Kurt had expected him to be. He remembered the letter he got from Blaine when his daughter was born, and this was not what he had expected, at all. He could see Emma's hazel eyes staring at him though.

"Uhm, no," the man laughed. "I'm Cooper, Blaine's older brother."

"Oh." That made more sense.

"You… you adopted Blaine's baby girl?" The man looked at him with searching eyes.

Kurt bit his bottom lip and nodded. "I, uhm, yeah. Emma."

"Emma," Cooper breathed and a smile formed around his lips. "I always wondered what her name was."

"Blaine never told you?"

Cooper shook his head. "I know you've been sending him letters, but he never shared any of them."

Kurt chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, the letters."

"What?" Cooper cocked his head. "Blaine loves them. He reads them a thousand times and hides them carefully in his box."

"Really?" Kurt heart started to speed up. Maybe he could get to Blaine through Cooper. If he really was worried about Emma, Kurt might have a chance. "Your mother said she stopped forwarding them to Blaine. I always send them here, because it's the only address I have, so…" he trailed off.

Cooper's eyes widened. He seemed surprised at this, which surprised Kurt in return. Maybe he had just encountered the wrong Anderson.

"You wanted to see Blaine," Cooper insisted. "Why?"

"Emma, she's… she has Spina," Kurt said, and Cooper nodded, he knew. "And her kidneys, well, she's always had problems with them. One of her kidneys hasn't worked properly since birth, and the other one has started failing a few months ago. It's been getting worse, and," Kurt took a deep breath and tried to swallow his tears, "she's been on dialyses since last week. She needs a donor, but there's a waiting list of approximately five years."

"Oh," Cooper's eyes widened as he started to get where Kurt was going with this.

"The dialyses- it's hard. She's dead tired afterward; it's taking a lot out of her. I don't… I wanted to give her one of my kidneys, but we're not compatible, and both my parents are too old to be donors, so…" Kurt wiped the tears that were spilling from his eyes with the palm of his hand.

"Hey, don't cry," Cooper put his hands on Kurt's shoulder to squeeze it gently, giving the other man some comfort.

"I'm sorry," Kurt sniffed. "I just, I hate to see her suffer. I shouldn't have shown up like this, but I'm getting desperate."

"Is there any way Blaine can contact you?"

Kurt's head shot up and he looked at Cooper with wide eyes. "I… yes, of course. I can give you my address and phone number."

Cooper nodded and gave his phone to Kurt. "Okay, put it in, and I'll get in touch with Blaine. It's his decision, ultimately, but I'll tell him."

"Oh, my God. Thank you, thank you so much." Kurt added his address and phone number to Cooper's contacts. "I don't know how I can thank you enough."

"And I'll get Mom to forward those letters," he shook his head. "Typical, sticking her nose in stuff that isn't her business."

Kurt nodded again, tears spilling from his eyes. "Thank you, thank you so much."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," Kurt replied in an instant.

"Do you have a picture of her?"

Kurt smiled and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He opened his photo app and pulled up a picture from last week when they'd gotten ice-cream after the doctor visit. Cooper looked at it and grinned. "Yup, definitely Blaine's daughter."

…

A week later Kurt was putting Emma's toys away from where they were scattered all over the living room when the bell rang. He frowned, as it was 8pm, and he wasn't expecting anyone. Emma was already in bed, tired after her dialyses session. Luckily she was a heavy sleeper, and the bell hadn't woken her up. Kurt hurried to the front door so they wouldn't ring it again. He opened the door and his eyes widened as he saw the young man in his doorway. He was short, with messy black curls and the same hazel eyes he had seen a week before on Cooper's face and he saw every day at home. "Blaine?"