Happy Saturday, guys!

I hope you're having a nice weekend. Here's chapter 5, which I hope you will enjoy.

Thank you so much for all the great reviews. Keep them coming! They're helping me stay inspired, and I'm almost done writing this story :)

As usual, I own nothing.

As Thanksgiving approached, both faculty and students became more and more stressed. The line of Blaine's shoulders seemed perpetually tense, and Kurt had to steal some concealer from Rachel's make-up bag to cover the dark shadows under his eyes. She looked at him reproachfully. Kurt knew it had nothing to with him using her stuff: she had voiced her concerns over Kurt's schedule several times in the past few weeks. Kurt tried to ignore her, but Rachel had never been a person easy to ignore.

His shifts at Starbucks were the same as usual. Sometimes he had to cover for a coworker, and the extra money was welcomed, but it wasn't this job that was a burden. The Happy Bean, on the other hand, should have been named The Miserable Bean.

His shifts were getting longer and longer, and he was working on days when he was supposed to be off. There was always an excuse and, at first, Kurt decided not to complain because he could do with some more money in his wallet. But when he got his check at the end of the month, his extra hours weren't included. He immediately talked to the owner about it, and after a five-minute conversation, it was obvious the man was looking for a way out without having to give Kurt any more money. In the end, when Kurt threatened to have his lawyer look into it, the owner gave in. Kurt hoped he wouldn't have to go through this every month.

"You should quit," Rachel told him that night, when Kurt barely made it through the apartment door before he started screeching in frustration.

That only angered him more. "Sure! I'll just quit! That's a great solution, Rachel. Why didn't I think of this before? It's exactly what I should do, since I can just pay the bills and the groceries by smiling at people!"

Rachel recoiled to her room. She didn't show her face again until the following morning, when Kurt made her coffee and pancakes to make up for his lousy outburst.

Kurt couldn't quit, but he could keep looking for another job in the meantime. That was the only solution he was able to come up with.

Burt called about Thanksgiving. It pained Kurt to tell his father he wasn't planning on going. He was scheduled to work that Friday and Saturday. He hoped Sunday would be a day off, but he wasn't even sure anymore. Plus, and he didn't tell his father this, he didn't think he could afford the plane ticket.

"We can do Christmas this year," Kurt said, trying to sound positive. "I'll have more time off."

The disappointment in his father's voice nearly made him burst into tears. And when he pictured the dinner table, with only Carole and Burt sitting there in front of a turkey too big for two, with Kurt's (and Finn's) empty spots besides them, he had to lock himself in his room and cry into his pillow so Rachel wouldn't hear him.

It was all becoming too much, and Kurt had no idea how to make it better.

The Babysitter Situation, as Blaine had begun to call it, hadn't gotten much better. He hadn't interviewed anyone he truly liked (or that Max truly liked), but at least Sarah's friend was giving him a hand, and between her and Sam, Blaine was covered enough for work. It wasn't ideal, and it sure as hell wasn't a permanent solution, but it was buying him some time.

Everyone around him seemed to start feeling the stress of the approaching holidays. Blaine couldn't blame them – the pile of papers and exams on his desk was growing exponentially every day. Every night, after he put Max to sleep, he stayed up reading papers and grading tests until his eyes couldn't read another word. But he was behind, and he knew it.

Even though the prospect of the first batch of holidays without his family didn't sound appealing at all, Blaine was looking forward to having four days off to try and recharge some energy. Sam had come to the rescue and invited Blaine and Max to spend the day with his family. Blaine had been so grateful that he could have kissed Sam – it was nice to know he and Max wouldn't have to stay home by themselves.

He didn't stop to think these would be Max's first holidays, and that he would never get to share them with his parents.

The day before the Thanksgiving break, Blaine had office hours. Sarah's friend and Sam were both busy, but since he wasn't teaching a class, he decided to take Max with him. He parked the stroller next to his desk and tried to keep the baby entertained while he graded papers.

He only had one appointment, with the girl who always asked questions in his Modern Lit class. He had a feeling that it wasn't that she didn't understand nor had trouble with the contents – the girl clearly had a crush on him. He thought it was sweet, but it made him slightly uncomfortable. He wasn't exactly looking forward to meeting with her.

Fortunately, it looked like she was just as stressed as everyone else and didn't want to actually flirt with him this time. Blaine answered a few questions she had and wished her a happy Thanksgiving. She fled the office almost as quickly as she had arrived.

He exchanged a quick glance with Max. Maybe it had been the baby that scared the girl away.

"I should probably bring you to all my Modern Lit classes and appointments, Max," he said, and the baby giggled as if he knew exactly what he meant.

He had just stood up to make some coffee when there was a knock on the door. He had no other appointments today, so he wondered who it was.

Blaine was surprised when Kurt Hummel came into the office. There was nothing weird about one of his students coming at office hours, so that was not the surprising part. It was the way Kurt looked that made him stop in his tracks, halfway back to his desk.

Kurt looked disheveled. There was no other way to describe it – his hair pointing in a million directions, his clothes were wrinkled, and he had dark marks under his eyes. It was shocking – Kurt was the most put-together person he had ever met. He had never seen him with a single hair out of place.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Anderson," he said, and he didn't even sound like himself. "I'm sorry to bother you, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course, Kurt. Please come in, take a seat. Would you like some coffee?" Blaine asked.

"Oh god, yes. That would be fantastic. Thank you," Kurt answered, almost eagerly. As he sat in front of the desk, he noticed the stroller. He perked up a little. "Max is here! Hi, little cutie! Remember me?"

Max clearly remembered him, because he bounced on the stroller and reached his arms for Kurt. After looking at Blaine for approval, Kurt picked him up and sat him on his lap.

"Careful with the coffee, it's hot," Blaine warned, and went back to sitting behind the desk. He studied Kurt in silence for a moment as he played with his nephew. "Are you okay, Kurt?"

Kurt kissed Max's forehead and then put him back in the stroller, so he could focus on the conversation. He wrapped his hands around the steaming cup of coffee, like he needed the comfort. "Yes. I just wanted to apologize because I didn't hand in my paper on Rimbaud's Les Illuminations last class. I should have talked to you then, but I was in a hurry, and I preferred to come back when I actually had the whole thing written. I'm sorry."

In the mess of papers he had received, Blaine hadn't even noticed Kurt's wasn't amongst them. "I appreciate you came talk to me. Did you have trouble with the theme?"

"Not at all, I had the whole thing written in my head, just needed to type it," Kurt explained. "It's just that my work schedule is all over the place right now, and I couldn't find a single moment to sit down and work on it. I'm truly sorry, I'm not the kind of student who misses a deadline…"

Blaine nodded. "I know that. You've been pretty much the perfect student so far. It happens to the best of us. Do you have a copy of your paper here?"

"I do! It's right here," he searched in his bag for a moment and then gave Blaine a folder.

"Then we can pretend this never happened," Blaine said reassuringly, adding Kurt's folder to the pile waiting to be graded. "As you can see, I'm a little behind on my own work. And now I can repay you for the coffee and the impromptu babysitting."

Kurt chuckled but his heart clearly wasn't in it. Blaine watched him sip his coffee for a moment, frowning.

"Are you sure you're okay? Is there anything else bothering you besides the hectic schedule?" He leaned across the desk as he talked, hoping to convey his concern.

With a sigh, Kurt sat back in his seat. "I don't want to bother you with my problems, Mr. Anderson."

Blaine arched an eyebrow at him. "Really? I seem to recall bothering you with my problems more than enough. It's only fair I listen to you now."

It didn't take long to convince Kurt to talk. In a matter of seconds, he exploded like he couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly, he was talking about how worried he was about his father's health, about how worried he was about money, about how terrible his new job was, and how much he wanted to quit.

"But I can't," he said, and Blaine had the feeling he was close to tears. "I can't quit, and no one seems to understand that. No one seems to understand that I need to do this, that it's important that I help my family. No one understands that my dad is sick and that nothing is more important to me than helping him be healthy. Not even he understands."

"He's just as worried about you as you are about him," Blaine said softly. "You're his kid. You'll always be his kid."

"I know," Kurt murmured tiredly. "That's why I need him. I need him to be okay so he can continue being my dad and I can continue being his kid for a very long time."

"Remember what you said? We are never ready to let anyone we love go," Blaine said. "You can't control that, Kurt. Maybe you should try relaxing a little bit. If you spend so much time stressing about keeping your dad safe and healthy, you won't spend any time enjoying his company. I think that's what truly matters, in the end."

Kurt looked down at his coffee sadly. "He asked me to go home for Thanksgiving, but I can't afford the trip. I work pretty much every single hour I'm awake, and I still can't afford visiting them."

Blaine's heart broke a little at how miserable Kurt sounded. "I'm really sorry, Kurt. I wish there was something I could do to help you."

"Well, you accepted my paper," Kurt said, shrugging and doing his best to smile. "That's more than enough."

They finished their coffee in silence. Blaine was thinking hard, trying to come up with a way to help this poor kid out, but nothing came to mind. He wondered if maybe he had enough miles for a flight to wherever Kurt was from, but then remembered he had spent all of them in his tickets to Greece, that he had never even gotten to use.

Kurt stood up before Blaine could think of another solution. "You're a really great teacher, Mr. Anderson. I don't think many of my professors would listen to me whine for so long. Thank you, you really didn't have to."

"There's no need to thank me. My office door is always open for you, Kurt. Whatever you need, just let me know, okay?" Blaine said earnestly, hoping he came through to him.

Kurt walked to Max and grabbed the baby's hand, dropping a kiss on his little knuckles. "Thanks, I appreciate it. Bye Max!" He turned to smile warmly at Blaine. "Bye, Mr. Anderson. Have a lovely Thanksgiving."

"You too," Blaine said, and just as Kurt reached the door, he called out. "Oh, and Kurt?" Kurt looked over his shoulder. "It's all going to be alright, just remember that, okay?"

He could have sworn the tension on Kurt's shoulders disappeared for a moment. The tiny smile that he sent his way seemed a lot more genuine than any Blaine had seen until now.

He wished he could help him smile like that again.

Rachel told him her parents had decided to go skiing in Vermont instead of doing Thanksgiving this year, but Kurt knew it was a lie. She didn't want to leave him alone in New York when he was clearly not in the best spirits. Kurt reassured her several times that he was fine and that she didn't need to stay for him, and yet nothing could change Rachel Berry's mind once she had made a decision. She was staying and that was final.

It was in moments like these when Kurt remembered what an amazing friend Rachel was, and how much he loved her.

He was grateful for her friendship, and in exchange for her sacrificing her family time, Kurt was determined to give her a Thanksgiving she would remember forever.

Rachel was a vegan so a turkey was out of the question. He also couldn't spend that much money – he would have gone to Ohio if he'd had enough – so the traditional Thanksgiving dinner would have to suffer a few alterations.

Despite being a holiday, Rachel went to rehearsal ("the stage knows no holidays, Kurt. You always have to be prepared"), so Kurt had most of the day to himself to get things ready. First, he allowed himself to sleep in. his body was sore from exhaustion and tension, and it welcomed the few extra hours in bed. He popped his muscles and stretched his arms over his head, savoring the opportunity to be lazy and wake up slowly instead of jumping off the bed as soon as the alarm went off.

After a shower and a large cup of coffee, Kurt got to work, first by cleaning the apartment thoroughly, and then by moving the furniture around so he could create a larger dinning space by the window. He had the feeling tonight would be the first snow of the season, and he didn't want to miss it.

He found a few scented candles in the back of a kitchen cabinet, so he set those up as well, before getting to work on the food.

When Rachel came home, starving, she stopped with one foot into the apartment and stared.

"Kurt! What is all this?" She exclaimed, surprised.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Rach," he muttered, kissing the top of her head in greeting.

He had made two different kinds of salad, and a big plate of creamy pasta with artichoke and spinach. There was a pumpkin pie in the oven, keeping warm, and some apple cider for later. Looking at Rachel's bright and happy face as she looked around and took in all the delicious scents around them, almost made him forget to feel sad for not seeing his family.

Later, after their bellies were full and their hearts a lot lighter, they looked for the heaviest, thickest blankets they had and wrapped themselves in them to sit outside on the fire escape. They watched the city under them, around them, everywhere the eye could reach. They could see the outline of Manhattan far in the distance, and they both wondered in silence when they would be able to live there. For a moment, it felt like they were kids making plans for the future, with no worries – only fresh and unscathed dreams.

As Kurt had predicted, snowflakes slowly started falling from the sky. He looked up, a small smile stretching his lips, and a flake caught in his eyelashes.

His life wasn't all that bad, not tonight.

A few miles from New York, in the outsides of Louisville, Kentucky, Blaine was sitting at the kitchen table with Sam. They were sharing a beer in the silence of the house – all of Sam's family had gone to bed already, and Blaine had put Max down to sleep as well. Now they both sat there, keeping each other company.

Inevitably, Blaine was thinking of his brother. Last Thanksgiving, Sarah had been pregnant. Cooper had been over the moon, and certainly over-protective, so he forbid her to make dinner and made her park in front of the television all day. Blaine remembered how she had cringed every time a sudden noise came from the kitchen, as Cooper yelled "it's fine! It's all fine, I have it under control!"

Blaine had ended up lighting the barbecue in the backyard, and their Thanksgiving dinner had been burgers, corn and potato salad. Still, Cooper hadn't lost his smile. He was over the moon because he was going to be a father, and nothing, not even an atypical holiday, would ruin that.

He felt the tears stinging in his eyes. He covered his face with his hands, trying to hold back the crying. He missed his idiot brother so much.

"Hey, hey," Sam said, reaching across the table to put a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "It's okay, man. It's okay."

"I'm sorry," Blaine apologized, furiously wiping the tears away.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Sam said. "It's normal to miss your brother. I don't know what I would do without Stacey or Stevie."

Blaine shook his head. "I don't want to ruin Thanksgiving for your family."

"You're ruining nothing. We're happy to have you here, so shut your mouth."

Blaine chuckled amongst the tears. "Your parents are amazing."

"Yeah, they are," Sam agreed. He watched Blaine as he took a sip of beer, hoping to calm himself. "You know, you never really talk about Cooper. Or Sarah. Maybe you need to talk about them."

"I've been talking about them," Blaine said. When Sam looked at him as if inviting him to tell him more, Blaine sighed. "It's going to sound weird, but I've talked about it with one of my students."

"Really?" Sam said, his eyebrows going all the way up to his hairline.

"Yeah, it's not as weird as it sounds," Blaine said, and told Sam about Kurt finding him and Max on campus and offering to take of Max while he was on his meeting. "We talked a few times after that, and he told me his brother passed away and his dad has a heart condition. He's a great kid, and is having a rough time. I wish I could help him."

"Look, in any other situation, I would say talking about personal stuff with a student is never the best thing to do," Sam said, as he scratched the label off his bottle. "But at this point, I just want you to talk to anyone. You can't keep everything inside. It's going to eat you out."

Blaine knew he was right, but whenever he wanted to talk about Cooper, the words seemed to form a knot in his throat and he couldn't go on. For some reason, talking to Kurt about him had been a little easier. He supposed it had to do with knowing Kurt understood from experience what he was feeling.

When they finished their beer, Sam got up, gave Blaine a pat in the back, and told him to get some sleep. He disappeared up the stairs, and Blaine was alone in the kitchen, with only his thoughts to keep him entertained.

For some reason, he thought of Kurt. He wondered what he was doing, if he'd had a nice Thanksgiving, despite not being able to visit his family. Blaine found himself wishing he could help him, wishing he could make life easier for him.

And then he realized… there was something he could do.

Two birds. One stone.

The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were the hardest of the semester. As soon as classes resumed after the little break, Kurt could feel the weight of what was to come on his shoulders. If his work schedule continued to be as awful as usual, he would have to spend the nights at the library to prepare for exams.

Every class he had attended this week so far had added an enormous pile of things to do to his list. Professor Anderson's wasn't the exception, but at least he had gotten an A on his paper about Rimbaud.

He was gathering his stuff at the end of the class when he heard his name.

"Kurt? Could I talk to you for a bit?" Mr. Anderson called from the front of the classroom.

Kurt tied the scarf around his neck, grabbed his bag, and made his way to him.

Professor Anderson waited until all the other students had left the classroom to speak. "Hi. How was your Thanksgiving?"

"A lot better than I originally thought it would be. My roommate stayed with me and we had a really nice dinner. Yours?" He asked, politely, though he was a little confused. Had Mr. Anderson just made him stay to ask about his holidays?

"Surprisingly good," he replied with a nod. He cleared his throat. "I wanted to ask you something, and I hope I'm not being inappropriate. I've been thinking about your situation, and it turns out I might have a way to help, if you're interested."

Kurt arched an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Well, as you know, I'm having trouble finding someone who can take care of Max while I'm at work," Mr. Anderson explained. "It's been quite difficult for him to bond with other people, to get him to trust them, after… you know, the accident. I think there are only two people he doesn't cry with. One is my friend, Sam," he paused and looked at him meaningfully. "And the other one is you."

"Oh," Kurt said, surprised.

"Which brings me to this," he continued, leaning on his desk and crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Kurt. "I know you are not comfortable with your job at the moment, so I thought maybe we could help each other out. Would you be interested in babysitting Max?"

Kurt was truly baffled. "Oh, wow. Are you sure? I mean, I adore the kid, but I have absolutely no experience with babies."

"I trust you. Max trusts you. Everything else you need, you can learn. That's enough for me," Professor Anderson shrugged. "Of course, we need to talk about your salary and your schedule, but to be honest, I'm ready to offer whatever you deem appropriate. I'm a little desperate," he smiled, and there was a twinkle in his golden eyes that Kurt had never seen before.

"I wasn't expecting a job proposal," Kurt muttered, stunned. "I… thank you so much. It sounds wonderful. I don't know what to say."

"Well, hopefully you'll say yes, but if you're not comfortable working for me, or you don't want the job, I will completely understand," Mr. Anderson said kindly. "I just wanted you to know the offer's on the table."

Students began walking into the classroom for Professor Anderson's next class. Kurt startled, as Mr. Anderson straightened and went to grab his bag. He searched for something in it.

"Here's my number, in case you deleted it," he said, handing Kurt a piece of paper. "Give it some thought, and let me know what you decide. You can text me or call me whenever you're ready."

"Thank you so much," Kurt said, because it was the only thing he could think of saying. Mr. Anderson gave him a quick nod, and Kurt left the room as he launched into a new lecture.

As he left the building, Kurt carefully folded the piece of paper and put it in his bag for safekeeping, like it was a precious thing.

It was almost midnight when Kurt made it home that night. He was wearing that disgusting orange and brown uniform, now stained with coffee because a customer had thrown her drink at him, when Kurt had made the mistake of putting whole milk in her skinny latte.

He had been stuck covering for a coworker who didn't show up and didn't even bother to call, and had missed the subway. By the time he had made it to Bushwick, he was ready to commit murder or set The Fucking Happy Bean on fire.

Instead, he took a quick shower, changed into a clean set of pajamas, and as he slid into bed, he sent a text message to the number carefully scribbled on the piece of paper he had been thinking about all day.

To: Mr. Anderson.

I'm in.

– Kurt.

And there it is! Were you one of the people who guessed this was going to happen? Review and let me know what you think!

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you all next Saturday!

Love,

L.-