Happy Sunday! Thank you for reading and thank you for the amazing reviews (even if they were justifiably angry) for Chapter 11! I appreciate them SO much. Another big thank you to my wonderful beta Christine!

Blaine sat in the passenger's seat of Kurt's Nissan as they drove down a narrow road carved in the middle of a forest. There were trees, lush with green leaves, on either side of the otherwise abandoned road, the sun was shining above them. It looked like a perfect spring day. Kurt sat happily in the driver's seat, navigating the twists and turns of the road as he sang along with the radio. He didn't look over at Blaine, only out the windshield, but there was a smile on his face—a beautiful smile that warmed the middle of Blaine's chest, made his heart beat faster, and his own smile appear. Watching Kurt sing, watching him be so happy and free as they drove wherever it was that they were going, did nothing but make Blaine fall more in love with him than he had been the moment before. That was how it had always been with Kurt: every moment, from the very first, Blaine lost a little bit of his heart to the man with the icy blue eyes, the radiant smile, and the touch that set his world on fire. Kurt had become his world, a place where he could share his truths and his secrets and not worry about judgment or alienation. Because Kurt got him from day one.

Blaine continued to watch Kurt for a few uninterrupted moments, allowing himself to just enjoy their time together, to let his heart soar to the point that it nearly overwhelmed him. He thought he'd known love before—with Jason and with boys in high school and college—but never had someone stolen his heart so quickly, so intensely, as Kurt Hummel had.

The road took a sharp turn, and suddenly the sound of Kurt's voice changed. His singing sounded muffled, like he was underwater, but he continued to sing and drive, his eyes never leaving the road.

"Kurt," Blaine called to him.

Kurt's focused remained on the road in front of him like he hadn't heard Blaine.

"Kurt," Blaine repeated, louder.

Kurt continued to be unresponsive as Blaine felt himself being pushed back into the car seat as the vehicle began moving faster down the road. Blaine looked out the window with wide eyes continuing to call Kurt's name as the car sped through the trees, turning them into nothing but green blurs.

Blaine looked at Kurt again he was still singing, still driving—like he was a video that looped over and over again, unchanging. Out of the corner of his eye, Blaine spotted something in the middle of the road, he took a moment to pull his eyes away from Kurt and noticed that it was a person, and as he looked closer he recognized the dirty blonde hair and the confident stature. It was Daniel standing in the middle of the road, staring the car down from the middle of the otherwise deserted road. Beside Blaine Kurt remained on repeat as the car continued barreling towards Daniel.

"Kurt!" Blaine exclaimed in a last ditch effort to get Kurt's attention so that he could avoid hitting Daniel. Blaine turned towards the driver's seat only to find that Kurt was no longer there, the seat was empty.

It was only a moment later before the car veered off the road and went crashing into a tree.

Blaine wasn't sure if it was the crash in his dream of the knocking on his bedroom door that flung him into consciousness. His heart was beating wildly in his chest as his eyes adjusted to the morning sun coming through his window.

"Blaine!"

"Yeah!" Blaine shouted in frustration as he tried to push his thoughts away from his dream and focus on Cooper knocking on his door. It was like when they were kids again, Cooper knocking on Blaine's bedroom door so he could convince him to keep quiet while he had a party or went out for the night.

The door opened a second later and Cooper walked in dressed for work, a big pair of gloves in his hand. But the look on his face was serious.

"You need to come downstairs," Cooper said, his voice managing to hide the concern that Blaine saw in his eyes.

"Why?" Blaine asked rubbing his hand over his face in an attempt to wipe the last bit of sleep from his head.

"Something's happened."

Two minutes later Blaine was standing in front of the TV, still in his pajamas, arms wrapped around himself watching the news. WOHN was broadcasting live from Lima Elementary where there had been a fire overnight. And even though it was out now, the building that Blaine spent almost every day of his life inside was no longer recognizable, as they showed images of the damage, the fire had burned through so much of it.

"Classes at Lima Elementary have been canceled until further notice. Principal Emma Schuester commented that once the damage has been completely assessed the school district will decide how to proceed with the rest of the school year, and an informational meeting will be held with both faculty and parents," Andrea Carmichael reported.

"No one was hurt?" Blaine asked Cooper who had obviously been watching this story before he'd woken Blaine up.

"No. They think it started really late last night."

"Good," Blaine said as he tried to wrap his head around the damage that had been done.

"Squirt, I can stay home for work if you need me to."

"No," Blaine said quickly, "Go to work. I'll call Marley and we can wait here for news."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Go. It'll be okay."

But truthfully, Blaine wasn't so sure. He was glad everyone was alright, that there was no one in the school when the fire tore through it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that in the destruction of Lima Elementary he'd somehow managed to lose everything…again.

McKinley High School's auditorium was growing full with Lima Elementary faculty, students, and parents a week after the fire. Blaine sat next to Marley with the rest of the teachers as they waited for everyone to arrive so that Mrs. Schuester could present them with their fate. Blaine had visited the school a few days prior, to see if he could pick up some of his personal items from his classroom—to see if they were still there—but they weren't letting anyone inside, and Blaine could see that the school was beyond immediate repair.

"Is that what happened between you are Kurt?" Marley asked nudging Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine looked at her, confused, but then followed her gaze to the middle of the auditorium. A rambunctious Kadie was skipping towards a row of chairs, Kurt behind her; Daniel behind him with his hand on Kurt's back, guiding him towards three empty seats. Blaine was going to be sick. It had been three weeks since Daniel came back and while he'd told Marley that things hadn't worked out between him and Kurt, only those closest to Kurt knew what was really going on.

"Who is he?" Marley asked.

"Kadie's other dad."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I don't want to talk about it," Blaine said crossing his arms over his chest, "It happened, it's over, and we've all got to move on."

"You think it's that easy?" Marley asked, "For either of you."

"He looks pretty moved on to me," Blaine said trying not to look at Kurt, trying not to see if there smile was on his face while he sat with his family.

Blaine was relieved when Mrs. Schuester and the rest of the school board appeared on stage, and Emma called for everyone's attention. It was a welcome distraction from the gnawing of his insides that being in the same room as Kurt had caused.

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for coming tonight. After spending the last week investigating and evaluating the school, the decision has been made to close Lima Elementary for the remainder of the school year."

There is a buzzing in the crowd.

"We've talked with the other schools in our district, as well as those around us, and have arranged for the students of Lima Elementary to be transferred to one of likely three schools. Unfortunately due to staff levels at the other schools, not all of the staff from Lima Elementary will be relocated as well. Your student will likely have a new teacher, and classes will be split up. We will be doing everything we can to make this transition as smooth as possible, including providing a bus service to those who are current bus riders, as well as those who can no longer provide transportation.

"We're trying to shorten the time off for the students, so new school and classroom assignments will be sent out by the end of the week, with classes starting on Wednesday of next week. Are there any questions?"

After nearly an hour of questions, everyone began to file out of the auditorium. Blaine hung out in front of the stage as he waited for everyone to file out so he could talk to Mrs. Schuester. He needed to know if he was going to have a job come next week.

"Mr. Anderson!"

Blaine looked up at the sound of his name just in time for Kadie to collide with his legs, her arms wrapping around them, squeezing him as tightly as a six year old could.

"I've missed you!" Kadie exclaimed. And Blaine's heart broke just a little bit more.

"I've missed you too, sweetie," Blaine said. He missed her more than she'd ever know.

"Can you come over and watch a movie with us?" Kadie asked with hopeful eyes.

"I can't," Blaine said after a moment of hesitation, fighting the lump that was building his throat, "Not tonight."

Kadie pouted as someone called her name. Blaine looked up and saw Daniel standing just a few feet away, "Let's go," he said to Kadie before glancing at Blaine.

"Bye, Mr. Anderson!" Kadie exclaimed and dashed away towards her father.

"Are you okay?" Marley said, her hand on his shoulder.

Blaine nodded but didn't say a word. Because his silence was the only thing keeping himself from breaking down.

It had been a long time since Kurt closed Hummel's by himself, but he remembered why he used to not mind it so much. And knowing that Kadie was at home in her own bed and not at his dad's made it that much easier to slip into the peace that the empty bar gave him. With just the radio softly in the background, Kurt had no one to bother him but his own thoughts His jumbled, messed up, and completely confused thoughts.

The night before Daniel had spent the night—on the couch—but having him there that morning, making breakfast with Kadie, it felt a little…off. But it shouldn't have, right? How many times over the last six years had he woken up to the smell of bacon and the sound of Daniel and Kadie laughing in the kitchen? Countless. So why did something that used to bring a genuine smile to his face now cause him to fake happiness as he kissed his daughter good morning?

Kurt told himself that he would try, but everything felt forced. But he was trying, so hard. He knew it was going to take more than a few weeks, maybe even more than a few months, but he'd try because they all deserved it. He and Daniel had been something special once, and with Kadie they'd been the perfect family. They could get that back with time, right?

Kurt swept up the last of the debris from another busy night from beneath the bar stools then sat down on one of them, his elbows on the bar, and his head in his hands. It was late and he was tired, but he didn't want to go home yet.

He heard the door to the bar open and hesitant footsteps as someone walked further inside.

"We're closed," Kurt said without moving. He could have sworn he asked Santana to lock up as she left.

"I know," a voice said that caused Kurt to turn quickly and be face to face with Blaine. Blaine, who he hadn't been this close to since the day Daniel came back. Since the day he drove away and refused to answer a single one of Kurt's calls or texts. He'd only stopped when Sam asked him to, a sad smile on his face.

"Hey," Kurt said softly.

"Hey," Blaine stood just inside the door, his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"What are you doing here?" Kurt asked. He'd been desperate to talk to Blaine for weeks, but it was nearly two in the morning.

"Seeing if you were," Blaine said shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh."

"Can I—can I talk to you?"

"Yeah," Kurt said gesturing to the stool next to him, "Sit down?"

"I'd rather not."

"Ok," Kurt said trying to hide his hurt and disappointed. He was sure Blaine hated him now, and he hated himself for that.

"I'm leaving Lima," Blaine said flatly.

"What?"

"Emma doesn't have room for another Kindergarten teacher at any of the schools they're transferring the kids to, so I'm out of a job until August," Blaine told him, "But I got a call yesterday and one of the teachers at the school I taught at in New York is going on maternity leave in a few weeks. They've asked to be substitute for the rest of the school year, and I've told them that I would."

"Oh. Wow. That's—that's good. Not that they didn't have room for you, but that you found something."

"Yeah," Blaine said running his hand through his hair, "I just wanted you to hear it from me. Cooper knows I got the offer, but I haven't told him I accepted, and I haven't told anyone else."

"So you'll be back in June?"

"I-," Blaine shook his head.

Kurt felt the air push out of his lungs in a single swoop, the feeling disappearing from his nerves, "So you're leaving? For good?"

Blaine nodded, "I'll be back to visit Cooper, Allison, and my niece or nephew."

"Your..."

Blaine smiled, the first real smile Kurt had seen him give in too long, in what felt like an eternity, "Allison's pregnant."

"Oh, Blaine! That's great!" Kurt exclaimed fighting the urge to throw his arms around Blaine and hug him close. He knew how much Allison wanted this.

"Yeah, so I'll be back. But probably not until Christmas. I told Emma to give my job to Marley."

"When do you leave?"

"Two days from now," Blaine said, "I'm going to stay with one of the other teachers until I get a place of my own.

"Blaine," Kurt said, the desperation to explain himself, to plead with Blaine forgive him, and maybe even to stay saturated in the sound of his voice.

"Hey," Blaine said, "Don't worry about it."

"Is there anything I can say?"

Blaine shook his head, "Could you tell Kadie I said goodbye?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Thanks," Blaine said, rocking on his feet, "I should go so you can get out of here. I'll—I'll see you."

Kurt nodded, "I'll see you."

Kurt watched as Blaine walked out of the bar, one echoing step after another, knowing that soon Blaine would be leaving Lima, and that it would very well be the last time he ever saw him. As the door closed behind Blaine a single tear fell from Kurt's eye and ran down his cheek.

Kurt wrapped his hands around his coffee mug as he sat at his father's kitchen table. Kadie was at school and Daniel was at the house going through some of his boxes and he just couldn't be in the house with him. And if he showed up at the bar, he knew Santana would send him home immediately. So it settled on the only other place he could really feel safe, his dad's.

"So," Burt asked sitting down with his own cup of coffee across from Kurt, "How is everything?"

Kurt let out a breathy laugh, "You're not very good at subtle, dad."

Burt leaned back in his chair, "Then just tell me want I want to know."

"Things are...okay," Kurt told him, "They're alright."

Alright was an incredible overstatement, but what else was Kurt going to tell his dad. That Daniel was trying to so hard to pick up everything exactly where he'd left it, but things were no longer the same? That no matter how hard he tried, he still felt like Daniel was a stranger, a guest whose face and name he recognized, but whom he no longer knew? Telling his dad that would just be admitting defeat—that he and Daniel weren't going to be able to work things out. And he wasn't sure he was ready for that just yet.

"Blaine left for New York this morning?" Burt asked.

"Yeah," Kurt responded, not sure if it was more unpleasant to talk about Daniel or Blaine at this point, "Sam said his flight was at nine."

"And how does that make you feel?"

Kurt shrugged, "I don't know."

"Yes you do."

Kurt huffed, "Fine, I feel guilty. I feel like he only left because of me."

"You really think that?"

"Yes. No. Maybe," Kurt said, "Can we please talk about something else?"

"Alright fine," Burt conceded, "What would you like to talk about?"

Kurt was silent for a while, "You never liked Daniel did you?"

He wanted to avoid this subject, but the question was screaming loudly inside his head. He knew where Santana stood—he got an ear full about it—but he valued his dad's opinion above anyone else's. He needed to know.

"I liked Daniel just fine until he left you, without reason, to raise your daughter by yourself."

"He had his reasons."

And he did. Daniel had sat Kurt down a few days earlier and explained to him how scared it was about becoming a husband when he was already a father, and wondering if he'd missed out on something in his life that he would never experience because he'd been with Kurt since they were sixteen. So he panicked and he left. He told Kurt about how he traveled around the country—mostly on the east coast—and that only Claudia ever knew where he was. They weren't excuses, just his reasons, but it gave Kurt a little perspective on the last year and a half of his life. But he wasn't sure it did anything to fix their relationship, or the crack that was still left in his heart.

"Wait here," Burt said suddenly getting up from the table, "I have something for you."

Kurt nodded and focused on his coffee. He didn't look up until his dad took his seat across from him again, and then placed something in the middle of the table.

Kurt recognized his immediately, it was his engagement ring. The one Daniel had given him oh so long ago. The one he'd given to his father after Daniel had left when he couldn't bring himself to get rid of it, but couldn't stand to wear or even look at.

"You told me to hold on to this until you needed it again. And I don't know about need, Kurt, but you have a choice to make. You can stay with Daniel, go back to the promise you made when he gave you this ring. A promise, I should add, you no longer have obligation to fulfill. You can do that or you can give this back to him and find someone who really makes you happy, who hasn't left you. I'm not saying it has to be Blaine, but damn kid, I haven't seen you as happy as you were with Blaine. And I haven't seen you more miserable than I have since Daniel came back. You're a good man for trying to fix your family, but sometimes things should have to go back to the way they were in order for them to be fixed. Sometimes a little different is better."

And there Kurt's dad was again with the advice. The advice that told him what he needed before even he did. He wished he could at least be half as useful to Kadie when she was older as his father had been his whole life.

"Thanks, dad."

"Kurt," he said, "Whatever you decide to do, make sure it's going to make you happy. The rest will figure itself out."

Kurt got up and walked over to his father, hugging him tightly. He'd be completely lost without him.

He picked the ring up off the table and as he headed home he had two options. He could put it back on his finger, promise his life to the boy who stole his heart at sixteen, who broke it at twenty-eight, and was trying to make things right again at almost thirty. Or he could give the ring back to Daniel. He could give it to him and tell him that there was no way to rectify their relationship. That Daniel leaving had destroyed the future they once dreamed about. And then he could find his chance at happily ever after. Though, what if his chance had already flown away?

Kurt sat alone in his bed looking over some of the papers and flyers that Kadie had brought home from school that week. She hated her new teacher. She came home from school on her first day at Bath Township Elementary and insisted that she was never going back. Her teacher didn't sing and he looked appalled when Kadie, and another of the boys who used to be in Mr. Anderson's class, suggested that they all have a sing-along. Add this to the fact that Kadie was no longer in the same class as Heather, and the little girl who once loved school—who once got upset because there was no school on Saturday—wanted to end her education at the ripe age of six.

"I miss Mr. Anderson," she'd whined at the dinner table that night.

Daniel—who planned on spending the night again—had told her she just needed time to adjust. But Kurt stayed quiet. He knew from seeing Blaine with not only Kadie, but all of his students, that there would never be another teacher like him in Lima—or anywhere. There was only one Blaine Anderson.

Kurt looked up as Daniel walked into the bedroom, a book in one hand, a cup of tea in the other, "Is this yours?"

Kurt examined the book; it was one of those mass market paperback Star Wars books. Blaine had been looking for it the same day that Daniel had come back.

"No," Kurt responded, "It's Blaine's."

"I think we need to talk."

"Can we not? Not tonight."

"No, Kurt. We've been putting this off long enough. We probably should have done this weeks ago."

Kurt sighed in defeat, "Fine."

Daniel put the book and the tea down on the dresser and walked over to the bed, sat down at the foot and looked at Kurt, "What are we doing?"

Kurt looked Daniel in the eye, probably for the first time since he'd been back. Once upon time he would have melted into those eyes, the gaze would have simultaneously sent chills and fire down his spine. Now he wanted to look anywhere but into it, "I don't know."

"Can I ask you something? And promise you'll be honest with me."

"I've always been honest with you."

"If I hadn't come back, if I hadn't shown up on the porch that day, would you have spent the rest of your life with Blaine?"

Kurt was quiet for a long time, the answer ringing loudly in his head. They'd only been together, really together, for a few months, but he knew the answer to Daniel's question without hesitation, "I don't know. I think so."

Daniel sighed, "Then why am I hear and he's gone?"

"Why did you come back?" Kurt said ignoring the question he'd been asked, "Everything you were running from, everything you were so scared of, it's still here. Kadie and I are still here."

"I wasn't afraid of you."

"Really?" Kurt said sitting up straighter, "Because you told me that you left because everything was too much. That having a husband and a child was overwhelming. But what is different now?"

"Claudia said—"

"Fucking Claudia," Kurt interrupted.

"Claudia said that if I didn't come back I'd lose the chance of ever getting you both back."

And then it hit him. What Daniel had been telling him all along, what Kurt hadn't been able to understand. That Daniel wasn't back for Kurt, that he hadn't been out there—wherever he'd been—thinking he'd made the worst mistake by leaving his family behind. He was out there living his life that didn't include his family. That they were just obligations that he didn't want, and he ran away so he didn't have to deal with them. And the bigger realization, the one that shook him to his core, was that he'd let Blaine go for Daniel. He'd given up on a man who loved him and Kadie more than anything for a man who didn't want them—but didn't want anyone else to have them either.

God, he'd messed up so bad.

"If Claudia hadn't told you about Blaine would you have come back?"

"Of course."

"Would have it been now or would have it been years from now when Kadie was grown and the majority of the work was done? Because you told me you wanted to have a family with me, Daniel. We both made that decision and then you backed out."

"You barely look at me; you won't let me touch you."

"Because I don't want you to!" Kurt exclaimed surprising both himself and Daniel, "I tried Daniel, I really tried. But this isn't going to work."

"You love him, don't you?"

"Yeah," Kurt said after a moment, "I do."

Kurt hung his head, feeling like he'd been hit with a bus of his own emotions. He was in love with Blaine and now that he could finally admit it, finally let himself feel it, Blaine was hundreds of miles away.

I hope you enjoyed the update! There is only one chapter, and maybe an epilogue, left! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought and I will have Chapter 13 to you as soon as I can! How do you think this story will end?