A/N: Okay, this was supposed to be up yesterday, but my laptop was being a dick. 'Cuz that's what he likes to do (yes, he is a boy - and I've named him George). Anyway, here's the 2nd part. 3rd part is being edited, and will be up tomorrow before the new Glee episode.
And I want to thank my reviewers, and everyone who added this story to their favorites or alerts. You guys are awesome!

(2 Years Later)

Hiram Berry cursed loudly as his car let off strange clunk and chunk noises and came to a stop. Why did things like this always happen to him? He sighed and called Triple A, who connected him to the nearest body shop, Hummel's Tire and Lube. Luckily, they had a towing service. It didn't take long for a man wearing blue coveralls stating that his name was Jack to arrive.

When they got to the shop Jack asked him questions about what was wrong, turned the car on, then nodded thoughtfully to himself and grabbed some forms for Hiram to fill out. After he finished, he sat on one of the benches lining the walls and tried to figure out why the name Hummel sounded so familiar.

It wasn't until a mostly-bald man in a baseball cap came over to explain what was wrong with his car and how much the repair should cost, and introduced himself as Burt Hummel, that Hiram finally made the connection. This was one of the jocks that had bullied Leroy in high school.

Burt looked down at the forms. "Hiram… Berry?" His eyebrows rose in surprise. Clearly he'd made a connection, too. When they'd married (or, technically, entered their civil partnership), Hiram had chosen to take Leroy's last name instead of hyphenating or Leroy adopting his name, mostly on the basis that Hiram's parents had disowned him a while ago, so he didn't really mind cutting any remaining ties to them. "Any relation to, uh, Leroy Berry?"

Hiram wavered on whether he should tell the truth or not, not wanting the man to suddenly turn his business away because he was gay. He decided to go with the truth, because no homophobe was sending him back in the closet – he was proud, damn it. "Yes, actually. I'm his life partner. We have a daughter, Rachel."

Burt shifted his eyes a bit, his expression conflicted but surprisingly… soft. When he finally spoke, it was not at all what Hiram had expected. "Well, good for him for finding somebody…. I'm glad you were able to get a daughter. Ohio's not the most pro-gay state I know of. Must've, ah, been tough."

Hiram blinked. "We chose to go the surrogacy route – expensive, but ultimately easier than adoption."

"Ah, well, I'm sure she's a beaut'." Burt didn't quite seem to know what to say after that, so he went back to explaining what was wrong with the car.

As Hiram was about to leave, Burt stopped him. He had one last thing he was getting up the nerve to ask. "Hey, could you… maybe… ask Leroy if could stop by here sometime next week?"

Hiram cocked an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

Burt rubbed the back of his neck. "I just… I was sort of horrible to him in high school, and I wanna apologize. I had no right to bully him for somethin' as small as being gay – it wasn't fair and I feel… really bad about it. An' I figure a face-to-face chat means more than a phone call…. I'll give you a discount on your repair?"

Hiram pursed his lips before deciding, "I'll talk to him. I can't make any promises though."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"What made you change you views?" he asked, because he was genuinely curious.

Burt cast his eyes downward. "Just… some things've happened, some people've come into my life and given me a wake up call, I guess. They've showed me that being gay ain't a choice, and it ain't a bad thing, either." A pause. "Just… tell him he can stop by anytime between six and five-thirty, if he wants to. I'll be here."

"Well, I'll be sure to deliver your message, Mr. Hummel."

"Call me Burt."

"Burt, then." Hiram was smiling as he left. He'd heard what Leroy had said about Burt – he'd been a real jerk. Not the worst of them, and he was never one of the violent ones, but he did yell slurs at him and throw him in the dumpster nearly every morning with his other football friends, and sometimes partook in the cruel pranks they pulled on Leroy outside of school. A typical homophobic "manly-man" – and he still was a "manly-man," it seemed, considering he owned a car shop, but he didn't seem to be quite so homophobic anymore.

There was hope for the world yet.

~0~0~

Burt left work early that day. He came home to find his seven-year-old son helping Elizabeth with dinner. They were both on barstools – Kurt because he couldn't reach the kitchen counter without it, and Liz because her illness had progressed to the point where she was too weak to stand for long periods of time. Kurt was doing all the required mixing since it was too strenuous for Liz. He was wearing his little pink apron that matched his mother's (he had pitched a fit about clashing colors that were "only appropriate on Valentine's Day" when they'd gotten him a red one, and they had ended up going back and picking an apron in the exact same shade of pink as Elizabeth's, much to Kurt's excitement – yes, they definitely spoiled him). The two were talking, and hadn't seemed to notice him yet, so Burt leaned against the doorway of the kitchen to listen to his two favorite people in the world talk for a few moments, a soft, fond smile on his face.

"So who's your favorite, then?" Liz asked, poking Kurt in the side. Kurt giggled and almost fell off the barstool he was kneeling on.

"Prince Eric, definitely!" he answered excitedly. "I wanna meet him in real life! He has a funny shirt but I like it. And I think he's got the prettiest princess! I think she was dumb for not wanting to stay a mermaid, though. I wish I could be a mermaid! But her song was the best! Wait, what was the question again?"

Liz laughed, the sound easier than it ever was when Kurt wasn't around. "Who is your favorite Disney prince?"

"Oh yeah, Eric is my favorite prince."

"Really?" Burt spoke up. "Because the last time we had a Disney marathon, you told me your favorite was Aladdin."

Kurt whirled around in surprise and excitement, a huge grin quickly taking over his face. "Daddy!" he squealed happily. And then he was jumping off the stool, running across the room, and throwing himself into Burt's arms. "You came home early!"

"Couldn't wait to see you, kiddo," Burt chuckled, ruffling his son's hair and laughing even more when Kurt squawked indignantly and scrambled to fix it.

It was true, though. After his conversation with Leroy's… husband? Boyfriend? Partner? In any case after their talk, he'd been anxious to get home and see his son. Just to hug him and make sure no jerks (like Burt had been) had hurt him today. Not that any had hurt him at all so far, in his young age, but Burt had gotten that panicky feeling and he knew it wouldn't go away until he'd seen his son in one piece. Ignoring Kurt's protests, he hugged the boy tighter to him, as if that could protect Kurt from all the idiots like himself in the world.

He wondered if having a son like Kurt was some sort of test from God, or maybe something to teach him to be a better person and let him see the error of his ways. If it was, it was working. Burt just felt horrible for who he'd been, because he knew how other guys were gonna treat Kurt, and now he knew what it was like to know your precious child, your pride and joy, was going to get hurt, and, as a parent, not be able to do anything about it. It wouldn't even matter if Kurt never officially came out; Leroy hadn't. Everyone had just assumed (didn't matter that they were right), because it was so obvious. And he knew they'd do the same with Kurt.

And he'd realized that being gay wasn't something you chose or could change. It was as involuntary as skin color or gender. He just wished he'd seen that earlier and hadn't tortured some poor kid who was just trying to live his life and get out of high school in one piece, just like everybody else.

He would always do anything he could to protect Kurt from people who would hate him simply for who he was. It may not always work, but he could try. And while he still wasn't, if he was being honest with himself, 100% comfortable with the whole gay thing, he would defend his kid to the death, and support him all the way. And make sure Kurt knew he loved him, especially after he was all Kurt would have left, when Elizabeth finally passed (and as much as it killed Burt to admit, her days were numbered and they all knew it, even if Kurt would refuse to acknowledge it, even to himself). He was going to be there for his son, no matter what.

Because he loved Kurt, unconditionally.

~0~0~

"What do you mean 'Burt Hummel wants to apologize'?" Leroy Berry demanded, setting down his glass of red wine (a treat they indulged in sparingly – one bottle of wine for 'couple time' once a week). "Tell me the whole story."

Hiram shrugged, taking a sip of his own wine casually. "I had car problems, and I went to the garage he owns. He recognized our last name just a bit after I realized he was one of your bullies from high school. He asked if I had any relation to you, and I said we were life partners and had a daughter, and he congratulated us and said he was sure Rachel was beautiful."

"Which she is."

Hiram allowed himself to nod. "Yes, she is. Anyway, later, when I was going to leave he stopped me and asked if I could get you to come down to the garage anytime between six and five-thirty, any day, I guess. He said he felt like a jerk and that he had no right to bully you for something as insignificant as your sexuality."

"Damn right he had no right," Leroy muttered.

Hiram fixed his husband (the law may not see it as a marriage but they did) with a glare before continuing. "And he said he wanted to apologize to you, and he figured face-to-face was more meaningful and sincere than a phone call. And I said I'd give you the message, and then I asked him what changed his views. And he said that certain people have come into his life and changed how he saw things. He seemed genuine."

"Anything else?" Leroy pried.

"He said he'd give me a discount if you came." Hiram grinned cheekily and Leroy playfully batted his husband on the shoulder.

"Of course it has to do with a discount, Mr. Frugal," he teased lightheartedly, and Hiram stuck his tongue out before schooling his features into a serious expression.

"And he really did seem sincerely guilty. He didn't even look disgusted at all when I told him about our marriage." Seeing his husband's unconvinced look, he added, "Come on, this could be a healing process for you. Plus, how often do homophobes change their views so drastically? If you act like a jerk about this, it might sully his newer, nicer opinion of gays, and that's a step in the wrong direction! Aren't we supposed to support people who revise their negative opinions of the LGBT community?"

Leroy bit his lip in contemplation, then sighed. "Fine, I'll go to pick up your car for you and I'll talk to him then." He then took a big swig of his beverage, muttering, "As far as liquid courage goes, this will have to do."

Hiram smiled triumphantly. "I think it's great that you're doing this. You deserve a reward." He leaned forward just slightly.

Leroy raised an eyebrow, catching on quickly. "Oh, do I now? And do you have any ideas as to what I may have earned?"

"Maybe just a few," he whispered lowly. And then he closed the distance between them in a kiss, wondering, just for a moment, how anyone could ever think that something that felt so right was wrong, before he was lost in the feel of his husband's lips and ditched all coherent thought.

A/N 2: Love it? Hate it? As long as you're not indifferent! Review :)