Whoooee! Well, today is my day off, and I've been bugged all day by my friend Stevie to complete and post another chapter. So here it is! Don't get used to two chapters in the same day, it won't happen often; but I will say this: The further I go with this story, the more difficult it seems to be to write. It's hard coming up with believable plot lines, and believable responses to those plotlines. I know where I want to take this story, but the road, as it always is, is paved with bumps and weird road signs. I keep getting sidetracked. I blame Kurt and Blaine; the girls are much too sweet to bear such a heavy burden. ;)

As aforementioned in previous chapters; I own nothing. This is all a figment of my imagination! XD

OH! And a super huge mega awesome fantastic hug to all those who have favourited, alerted, and reviewed; You guys are the Bee's Knees, and I truly love you all!

"Girls!" Kurt's voice cut through the screaming, crying children. "If you don't stop, we won't be going anywhere!" Penny and Katherine stopped crying abruptly; they really, really wanted to go to the zoo. Jessica didn't understand that they were going to the zoo, so she kept crying. Katherine started to get upset; if Jessica didn't stop crying, they wouldn't be able to go! She held out her favourite toy, a sparkly wand, and let Jessica grab hold of it. As soon as Jess had it, she stopped crying, and blinked at Katherine with wet, teary eyes.

"It's okay, Jessie, it's okay," Katherine cooed, her voice going soft like Kurt's did when he was trying to calm Jess down. Kurt looked into the back seat of Blaine's Honda Fit.

"That's better," Kurt mumbled, as he manoeuvred through the traffic, his attention on the road.

Now that the girls were better, after having the chicken pox, Kurt had promised them he would take them out for the day. They had been stuck at home for a week, and they were driving Blaine and Kurt crazy. So, in order to give Blaine a bit of a break, he had packed up the girls in the car, and driven them through the city to the zoo. He was now starting to regret his hasty decision. And not bringing Blaine with them.

Kurt pulled up at the zoo, parking in the lot and jumping out. He got the stroller from the car before letting the kids out, and he put Jessica in the stroller before he took out Katherine and Penny. He kept a firm hand on each of the girls' wrists, and pushed the stroller in front of him. How the devil did Blaine do this? Was all he could think to himself, as he realised he'd left the diaper bag in the car, and went back for it.

As he made his way to the front gate of the zoo, he noticed other people looking at him. What on earth were they looking at, he wondered, as he paid for the tickets for himself and the girls. True, Jessica was screaming at the top of her lungs again, but he figured she'd stop when they saw their first animals. He manoeuvred the stroller through the gate, and promptly lost hold of Katherine's hand. She looked up at him, her eyes wide as she realised she was in the zoo. Then she took off toward the monkeys which she could see from where she was.

Kurt groaned. He picked up Penny, cuddling her against his body as he pushed Jessica in the direction after Katherine, dodging old people and young people alike, in his haste to reach the little girl. When they finally reached the monkey cage, Katherine looked up at Kurt and announced:
"I'm bored. Let's go look at the tigers!"

Kurt grabbed her hand before she could dart off, and pulled her close to him as he knelt down on the ground. He ignored the looks some of the people around were throwing him, and he spoke very firmly to the girls.

"Katherine, Penny, this is a treat. Not just for you, but for me, too." The girls looked at him with wide eyes, Jessica still yelling in her stroller. "I've never been to a zoo, and I would like to enjoy it as much as you guys, but I can't do that if you are going to wander off or get lost. So I need you guys to help me out, and stay by my side, all right?" The girls looked at Kurt, nodding, as he turned to Jessica. He finally discovered why she was so upset: her finger had been caught in her stroller, and was pinching her. With an embarrassed squeak, he reached over and untangled her, kissing her finger softly as he murmured softly to her.

"I'm so sorry honey," He swallowed, his heart thumping in his chest as he made sure the skin wasn't broken. Jess had stopped screaming as soon as Kurt had released her finger; but Kurt's face was flaming red now that he knew why he'd been stared at.

He stood slowly, looking around him at the people on all sides. They were no longer staring at him, but he couldn't help but continue feeling embarrassed. He wanted to hide somewhere.

"Katherine, could you grab on to this side of Jessica's stroller? And Penny, could you grab on to that side? Perfect. Now, we can continue walking, and everyone will get to see whatever animal they want, but I need you both to promise me that you won't wander off. Promise?" Both girls nodded, and they set out to see the zoo.

It was lunchtime, and Kurt wheeled the girls to the grassy area by the lion enclosure. It had been a great few hours; the girls were excited to see the animals, even Jessica, and they had even been able to touch a bush baby that a kind zookeeper had brought around.

In all, Kurt was very happy with what he had been able to do with them so far today, and he was looking forward to the rest of the day.

As he settled the girls on the blanket he had brought, he handed out sandwiches that he had made that morning, letting Jessica out of the stroller to roll around on the blanket a bit. Kurt asked Katherine what her favourite animal had been, and was pleasantly surprised to hear that she loved the otters. When Penny was asked the same question, she replied with elephants. Jessica burbled incoherently as she rolled around on the blanket, and Katherine translated that into that she loved the bush baby. Kurt could believe that; Jess had been entranced by the bush baby, and the ridiculously soft fur he'd had.

As they sat soaking up the sun's rays and enjoying their sandwiches, an older man walked up to them, a frown on his face. He called back to his wife, who was standing a few paces away, holding the hand of their grandson.

"We don't want any of your kind here," The man hissed at Kurt, his frown turning into a scowl as he kept walking forward. Kurt sat in stunned silence. What the hell?

"You're a freak, a disgrace to society, and we don't like faggots here," The man hissed again, before turning on his heel and stomping away. His wife looked apologetically at Kurt, as she followed him.

Kurt turned five shades of red in embarrassment. His heart was hammering in his chest, his mind was whirling all over, and his breath came in soft pants. He was frozen, the terror transporting him back to high school, and the torture he'd been put through at the hands of the local bullies. A soft hand on his wrist made him jump and he looked down into the green eyes of the little girl beside him.

"Yes, Penny?" Kurt choked out, his mind still whirling madly.

"Freak?" Penny muttered to him, her little voice unsure of what that meant. He felt tears prick the back of his eyelids at the loss of the child's innocence. Another hand wrapped itself around his other wrist, and he turned to look at Katherine.

"Kurt," She asked softly, her eyes as wide as saucers. "What does faggot mean?"

Kurt gasped as he heard the despised word uttered from the mouth of the innocent little girl. He knew she didn't know, and was asking him, and it made his heart lurch as he realized she expected him to answer her. Taking a shaky breath, he looked around at the girls, and uttered the worst words in the world for them to hear:

"Let's go."

Kurt pulled into the parking garage, his mind in a tizzy. He unloaded the girls safely, and they made their way up to the apartment with minimal fuss. He put the girls to bed for their naps, and flopped down on the couch in disgust.

Blaine appeared from out of his room, and saw Kurt, folded up on the couch, his expression one of deep concern. Blaine's happy expression changed when he saw Kurt, and he wandered over to sit gingerly beside the other man.

"Hey. Are you okay?" He asked softly, and Kurt rounded on him, the fear and fury evident in his voice.

"No! As a matter of fact, I'm not! I was at the zoo with the girls," Blaine nodded; Kurt had told him of his plans before leaving that morning.

"Did they get away from you?" Blaine asked, his mind automatically going to the girls, hoping they had behaved somewhat for Kurt.

"No. Well, Katherine ran from me once, but other than that, they were the best-behaved kids I've ever watched. No, it was something else." Kurt shuddered, his eyes tearing up, and now that everything was over and he no longer had to be strong for the girls, he felt his armor crack.

Blaine was shocked; what in the name of all he held sacred had upset Kurt so badly? He reached over and tentatively placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder. With a soft cry, Kurt ducked his head into Blaine's shoulder and began whimpering. His hot tears began to soak Blaine's shirt; fleetingly Blaine was glad he hadn't been getting ready for tonight yet.

"Hey, hey…. It's all right," Blaine tried to comfort Kurt, his hand rubbing the other man's back a touch awkwardly. Kurt cried for a couple more minutes, and then he sniffled, his sobs abating. Leaning back from Blaine, he flushed, completely embarrassed, and his shoulders slumped in resignation.

"It was humiliating, Blaine," Kurt muttered softly, his shame making the room about ten degrees hotter than it should have been. "I was feeding the girls lunch, and some man showed up. Just walked right up to me, called me a freak and... a..." He lowered his voice to a whisper, as though by saying it out loud it would have some kind of hold over him.

"A f-faggot," Kurt choked on the word, and Blaine sat up fiercely, his protective nature going into overload at the use of such a rude word.

"He did not!" Blaine was incredulous; wasn't this the twenty-first century? Weren't people allowed to be gay without being harassed by random strangers on the street? His hackles rose sharply, and he wanted to punch something. He jumped up and began to pace.

Kurt looked up at the man striding along the room in front of him; Blaine wasn't tall, not even as tall as Kurt, but when he was upset like this, he walked as though he was ten feet tall. At that moment, Kurt truly believed that Blaine could do anything; anything at all.

Blaine stopped, pulling Kurt to his feet, and hugged him fiercely. Kurt was taken aback; Blaine had never taken the time to actually pull him into a hug before.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt," Blaine's eyebrows really did wiggle when he was upset about something. Kurt had honestly thought Katherine had been making it up when she had told him. He smiled tremulously, his tears still leaking slowly down his cheeks.

Blaine stared into Kurt's eyes as he cried, and felt his heart melt at the sight of the other man's pain.

"I should call Tanya," Blaine muttered, his voice low with worry for Kurt.

"No!" Kurt shook his head gently, his eyes leaking again. "No, you should go out with her, get your mind off of things."

Blaine had located a match on E-Harmony, and as such had set up a date for this evening.

"How on Earth can I go out knowing you feel so bad?" Blaine offered, his voice soothing and calm as opposed to Kurt's shrill, upset one. He sat Kurt back down on the couch, and grabbed the portable phone from its base. "I won't be a minute," He added gently, and wandered into the bedroom.

Kurt was confused. Blaine was dating now, but he was willing to drop it all for Kurt? What did that say about their relationship? Were they still employer and employee? Or had they progressed into friends? Kurt didn't know, and his mind trying to figure it out was giving him a migraine. Or maybe that was just the crying.

Blaine returned to the room, and sat beside Kurt on the couch.

"Okay, we have a couple of choices," He murmured, as he pulled out some pamphlets from his back pocket. Kurt looked at them in wonder: there were menus for Chinese, Italian, Greek, Mexican and Thai food, as well as a couple of burger joints and one steakhouse. Blaine must have grabbed them while he had been in the bedroom; Kurt had never seen them before.

"You might want to pick one before the girls wake up," Blaine cautioned. "If you don't, we'll be stuck eating McDonalds." And he laughed softly while he handed Kurt the menus. Kurt turned the menus over in his hands, and looked up at Blaine in silence. Blaine stared back.

"I figure, we can order in, send the girls off to bed early, and watch a movie or two to help you take your mind off what happened today. I-I m-mean," Blaine stuttered, incredibly aware of how close Kurt was. "If you want to, that is… I wouldn't blame you if you just wanted to go home… I just thought…" Blaine rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand, embarrassed, as he trailed off.

"No," Kurt replied, and Blaine's head shot up in panic. "No, I mean, I'd love that," Kurt smiled again, and this time Blaine returned it with a grin of his own.

They decided to order Italian; Kurt was in the mood for comfort food, and nothing was a better comfort than pasta. Besides, the girls loved spaghetti; this was a way to make sure they ate all their dinner before they were put to bed.

The girls awoke from their naps at approximately all the same time, and Kurt and Blaine decided to take them to the park before ordering in. The eldest girls were ecstatic; the zoo and the park all in the same day? What a treat! Then Katherine remembered something that had peaked her interest earlier, and turned to her daddy in confusion.

"Daddy, there was a man at the zoo. He called Kurt a fag.. a fagr.. Kurt, what was the word again?" She looked over at Kurt, who had a stricken look on his face, and then at her daddy, who looked like he was in pain.

"Sweetie, I know what word you're talking about," Blaine responded, kind but stern. "That word isn't one we use very often, and that man should never have used it to describe Kurt. It is rude, and mean, and not a very nice word. It really hurt Kurt's feelings when the man said it to him," Blaine tried to be gentle about reprimanding his daughter, but he knew he had to get the point across. Kurt added his viewpoint to the conversation.

"Katherine, a f-f…" Kurt stuttered, trying to get the word out. "A f-faggot is a nasty word used to describe a person like me," Blaine motioned to Kurt; he didn't need to do this. But Kurt was determined. "I'm what you call gay, Katherine. You know how mommies and daddies love each other, most of the time?" Katherine nodded, glad to finally be getting some answers, even if she wasn't quite sure she understood.

"Well, I'm a boy who likes other boys, instead of girls," Kurt's face was red; he'd never in a million years thought he would have to be explaining this concept to a child. Katherine wrinkled her brow, concentrating and thinking hard.

"And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that," Blaine added gently, his face turning to Kurt with a look that Kurt couldn't decipher. "Love is love. It doesn't matter who it's with." He nodded, and Kurt nodded with him.

"You like boys?" Kurt nodded, glad she had caught on to the explanation so quickly. "And you're a boy, right?" Kurt nodded again, exchanging a glance with Blaine. "Then you can like Daddy! Daddy, Daddy! Kurt likes you!" Katherine's voice carried around the park, and Blaine and Kurt both went beet red.

"Sweetie, wait, Katherine!" Her father called, as she skipped around the park, singing about Kurt loving Daddy. A couple sitting on a bench smiled at her antics, and Kurt was thankful they weren't prejudiced.

Blaine finally caught up with his daughter, grabbing her around the waist and slinging her up into the air and over his shoulder. She gave a quick squeal, and pounded her father's back with her tiny fists.

Blaine put her down, back beside Kurt, and together they looked at her sternly. She shivered, her little mind comprehending that what they were about to tell her was important.

"Honey, your dad and I aren't in love," Kurt murmured softly; Or at least he doesn't love me, Kurt thought to himself miserably. Blaine nodded at Kurt's words, his face portraying a look of calm, unyielding resolution.

"That's right," Blaine continued nodding, even as his mind broke down those words. "We aren't in love, but that doesn't mean I don't like Kurt," Blaine placed a protective hand on Kurt's back. "Kurt is a very nice person, and if I were gay, he would be the one person I would want to be with. Completely, and totally, with all my heart," He added, looking at his daughter, trying to get her to understand the concept.

Kurt, meanwhile, had nearly stopped breathing. Blaine would want to be with him? If he were gay? Kurt's mind whirled over those words, and he missed an entire section of the conversation. When he finally tuned back in, Katherine and Penny were both in Blaine's arms, and he was hugging them fiercely. Kurt's heart melted at the touching scene, and he realized that the girls needed to run and play before they ordered dinner, because otherwise, they would never get to sleep that night. He ushered them off to the playground, and began pushing Jessica in the stroller while Blaine walked beside him.

"That was really nice, what you said back there," Kurt murmured, his eyes lowering to the ground in front of him in embarrassment. Blaine reached out and placed a hand on his back, and rubbing softly, he replied:

"I meant every word of it," Kurt looked at him, shocked; then he resumed walking, his eyes never straying to the man beside him, only staying on the children playing in the park.

When Penny was rubbing her eyes in fatigue, they packed up the kids and walked home. On the way, they stopped at the video store, renting three movies in total. One for the girls, Dora the Explorer Saves the Princess, and two for the adults. They had chosen Funny Face for Blaine, who was an Audrey Hepburn fan, and Mamma Mia for Kurt, who was in the mood for a good cry, and Meryl Streep never failed him.

Kurt did have to giggle at Blaine's choice though.

"Are you sure you don't have anything to tell me?" Kurt teased, and Blaine rolled his eyes at the other man.

"Just because I happen to like to watch old fashioned movies like Funny Face doesn't mean that I'm gay, Kurt," Blaine smirked softly, pointing to Kurt's choice. "You, however, make it painfully obvious," And he moved quickly enough that the smack Kurt had aimed at him never hit, dancing around Kurt with twinkling eyes, balancing a sleeping Katherine on his shoulder. As Kurt brought the movies to the front desk, he shifted Penny in his arms, fumbling with his wallet, and cursing when he dropped it on the ground.

"Sorry," He muttered to the teenage girl behind the counter; she just snapped her gum and looked at him, bored.

"Hey, allow me," A tall, blond, athletic-looking man came over and picked up his wallet for him. It flipped open and the man happened to glance down. "Here, Kurt Hummel, I do believe this belongs to you," He handed the wallet back to Kurt, flashing him a huge smile, and leaning against the counter. As Kurt made to pull out a twenty to pay the girl at the desk, the man interrupted again.

"Here," He handed the girl his credit card before Kurt could pay, and flashed Kurt another devastating grin. Blaine stood behind Kurt, a small scowl gracing his face as he watched the other man flirt outrageously with Kurt. His Kurt. Blaine blinked as that little tidbit of information floated through his brain, and he turned back to the others, finding the blond moving away slowly. He was pocketing something, and he flashed one final grin back to Kurt as he called:

"I'll see you on Friday, Kurt! I can't wait!" Kurt turned his breathless body back toward Blaine, and he took in the scowl that covered Blaine's features.

"What?" Kurt asked, his body flushing from the look Blaine was shooting him.

"He was flirting with you, Kurt," Blaine hissed, looking back over his shoulder at the blond as they left the store.

"I know," Kurt sighed softly, his eyes glazing with the remembered thought of the man.

"What was that he was pocketing?" Blaine asked furiously; he wasn't sure where the rage was coming from, but he knew it didn't feel good to be like this.

"My number," Kurt flashed Blaine a quick glance, his eyebrows raised as he stared Blaine in the eyes. "You know, for someone who professes to be straight, Blaine, you're getting awfully worked up over this," And Blaine blinked at that, all the rage and upset flowing from him in a cold shudder.

Blaine worked to keep his face neutral; it was difficult, and he nearly didn't succeed, but after a minute he was able to choke down the fear and hostility, and smiled wanly at Kurt.

"I was just, you know, making sure the guy is right for you," He temporized, the lie filling up the space between them so that they had to look away from each other.

The two finally made it back to Blaine's apartment, waking the girls upon entering so that they could order the Italian food they wanted. Then they sat and watched the Dora movie with the girls. When the food arrived, Kurt made sure the girl's hands were clean, and Blaine served them. Once they were finished it was six thirty, and they put the girls to bed with no more fuss. Blaine decided to forgo the evening bath; they could put it off for one day.

As Kurt and Blaine made themselves comfortable on the couch, Blaine's mind wandered to the date he was supposed to have had for tonight. Tanya was a nice woman, according to the e-mails they had exchanged. She was pretty too, assuming the picture on her Facebook page was actually her, and not some picture of a friend or relative.

Kurt coughed softly, and Blaine's attention was on him in a second. Kurt motioned to the two movies he held in his hands, and Blaine smiled softly.

"Wanna flip a coin?" Blaine grinned as Kurt rolled his eyes. "Heads, Funny Face, Tails, Mamma Mia. Sound all right to you?" Blaine asked quietly, his eyes taking in every detail of Kurt's face as he smiled back.

"Yeah."