And at last we have the magical moment! Thank you very much, all of you who have been reading and reviewing this story! I'm glad you enjoyed these little Hummel vignettes.

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"Dad, stop fidgeting! You look great," Kurt scolded, slapping his father's fingers away from his cranberry-red silk tie. "You've got everything ready for later, right?"

"I got it," he said, reaching for his throat to fidget with the knot again and then stuffing his hands in his pockets with a sigh when Kurt's heated glare nearly gave him a sunburn. "You sure all this isn't overkill, though? I mean, all the suspense just might kill me!"

Kurt rolled his eyes and glanced at Finn for support.

The taller boy smiled and shook his head. "I think Kurt called it building the moment, and he's right, y'know. Girls are all about romantic stuff. Even old ones, like Mom. There's no way she'll be able to resist you if you go with the full show."

Burt chuckled nervously. "Why do you guys both think I don't know anything about romance? I managed to get Kurt's mom to marry me, didn't I? And I made it this far without any help from you two."

"Oh, please," Kurt scoffed. "You were a junior-college football star when you met Mom. And I seem to recall that you had never even tried to start a conversation with Carole, even though you had seen her at parent-teacher nights a dozen times and thought that she was pretty. Not until I decided to introduce you. Not to mention the makeover and shopping trips and all that good advice I gave you on how to impress her!"

"He did kind of help," Finn agreed, earning himself a beaming smile from Kurt and a sour look from Burt. "Besides, you're the one who asked us to help you set up the perfect romantic evening tonight. I think Kurt did a pretty good job putting everything together on such short notice. Mom is gonna love it, and she'll definitely say yes. Heck, I'd marry somebody if they did all this for me!"

Kurt threw up his hands and quipped, "Now he tells me!"

All three of them laughed, the two teens shoving each other playfully. They had come a long way since the days of Kurt's unrequited crush and Finn's near-panic attacks every time they were anywhere close to each other. True friendship had managed to develop between the two boys and pulled them past all of the discomfort and misunderstandings, and now they were united in a common cause.

Suddenly, Kurt gasped. "I hear her car! Quick, everybody in the kitchen!"

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Carole Hudson sighed softly, stretching her back as she retrieved her purse and shut the car door. Work had been a bear today. So much time and effort for what felt like almost no result at all, and a manager who simply did not appreciate how much work everyone was putting in. Odd hours, short staff, inventory reductions; sometimes she felt as if just one more thing going wrong would cause her to start screaming like a banshee and get her carted away in a straight-jacket.

She looked at the house, dark and quiet. Things had not been quite as perfect here as they could be either, lately. Looking after two busy and active teenagers was twice the work of taking care of one, and lately Burt seemed stuck in his own world, barely noticing how stressed she was. He was worried about the garage, which hadn't been taking in as many customers lately, and about Kurt, whose now-open interest in boys was driving him quietly crazy.

Plus, it was football season. God forbid her problems get in the way of that!

Another, deeper sigh escaped as she hitched the purse higher on her shoulder and trudged up the front steps. Feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to help anything and she needed to get busy fixing dinner for her three hungry men.

As she closed the front door and put her keys down on the hall table, a strange light caught Carole's attention. What could it be? She frowned, setting her purse down and walking into the living room to investigate. A soft, "Oh!" escaped her lips. The usual darkness was pushed back by soft candlelight, every table and flat surface in the room covered with votives in pretty little glass holders in every color of the rainbow, each one giving off a gently flickering glow.

On the floor, carefully spread to form an arrow pointing toward the stairs, lay rose petals.

More petals decorated each step, leading the amazed woman up to the master bathroom. Candles lit this room too, and she gasped at finding the bathtub full to the brim with a steaming hot bubble-bath. On the back of the door hung a lovely blue silk nightgown, modest yet sexy, and a matching pemoire with a little note attached. It was typed, so as not to give away the identity of the writer. 'Take your time and relax. Dinner will be waiting.'

Beyond surprised, she took a closer look at the tub, noticing that a small table had been moved up next to it, holding a glass of wine, a small plate of chocolates, the book that had formerly been on her nightstand and a small CD player that she knew belonged to Finn. Another little note decorated the player, pointing to the buttons. It simply said, 'Push.

Closing the bathroom door, she got undressed and climbed into the bath before obeying the note. The familiar soothing voice of Frank Sinatra began to play, crooning softly as she sighed in contentment at the deliciously hot water, settling back to enjoy the scented bubbles. Taking a small sip of wine, she picked up her book and relaxed.

Half an hour later, a slightly self-conscious Carole went back downstairs dressed in her new lingerie.

Her eyes widened at the sight before her. The votive candles had disappeared, the sofa had been pushed back and the usual coffee table was nowhere in sight, replaced with what she suspected was the square fold-up card table from the garage. It had been covered with a nice tablecloth and decorated with a bowl of flowers flanked by two tall flickering taper candles. Two place settings had been arranged, complete with more wine in cut-crystal goblets and plates covered by warming lids that Carole did not recognize.

She ventured closer, following a delicious odor. A small sound of appreciation escaped her lips when she lifted one warming lid and found a delicate slice of prime rib, a scoop of garlic mashed potatoes adorned with a small drizzle of gravy and a serving of steamed asparagus. Next to each plate was a half-cup metal serving bowl filled with pink and white ice cream – the strawberry cheesecake variety that she and Kurt both adored.

"Oh, it's beautiful," she breathed, looking up as music began to play throughout the house. Turning, she beheld Burt Hummel standing in the doorway wearing a dark blue suit and a red tie, smiling as he held out a long stemmed crimson rose. The scene was impeccable and so romantic. "Burt? I can't believe you did all this!"

"I wish I had," he said, smiling into her eyes as he came closer and slid his arms around her body, swaying in a silent invitation to dance that she just as mutely accepted. He kissed her lips softly. "I had a little help."

Carole smiled, "Kurt?"

"Yeah, and Finn too." A warm chuckle escaped Burt's lips. "I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to do something for you and Kurt practically broke his neck leaping at the chance to plan it all out for us."

"He's such a sweetheart," she said affectionately, sniffing the beautiful fragrance from her rose.

Burt looked into her eyes, completely serious. "I've been taking you for granted, honey, and I should know better. You've been putting up with a lot of crap lately and I should have made sure you knew how much I appreciate you, and how much I love you."

Carole's heart felt as if it could swell to bursting as tears welled up in her eyes. "I love you, too. So much."

She looked around the beautiful setting again, incredibly moved to know that the boys had helped set this up for her. Their combined family had had some adjustments to make over the last year, and not all of it had gone smoothly, but the very idea that their sons loved her and Burt enough to do something like this for them touched her deeply. "Where are they tonight?"

Burt laughed. "Kurt and Finn are going bowling with Mercedes and Rachel, then they're all heading to a late movie. We've got the place all to ourselves tonight."

She laughed, too. "Kurt actually agreed to go bowling?"

"Oh, don't let that fussy act of his fool you," the proud father advised. "Kid's got a higher average than I do! I think the other kids may be in for a little surprise tonight."

She snuggled deeper into Burt's arms, closing her eyes. They were not dancing so much as just swaying in time to the melodic strains of 1940's standards that filled the air. "We'll have to do something extra nice to thank them both."

"I'm sure they'll be glad to let us," Burt chuckled. "Now, that's enough talk about the kids. Tonight is supposed to be about you and me. What do you say we have some dinner, and drink some wine and then see where things take us? Later on I, uh, I kind of have something I've been wanting to ask you."

Carole reached up, encircling his neck with both arms as she pulled his lips down to meet her own. Looking into his eyes, she felt a flutter of excitement fill her. "Please don't wait," she whispered, hoping she wasn't presuming too much. "Ask me right now."

Burt's hand slipped into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small velvet box. "Carole Hudson, over the last eighteen months, you've brought laughter and joy and love back into my life. You've made me happier than I ever thought I could be again. You've let my boy know how it feels to have a mother again, and you and Finn have made our family complete. Now I'd really like to make it permanent." He opened the box, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. "I can't promise that our life together will always be perfect, Carole, but I can promise that I will love you with everything I've got for just as long as you'll let me. Will you marry me?"

She had started to cry halfway through the speech and now she could barely get the words past the joyful lump in her throat. "Yes. Oh, Burt, of course I'll marry you!"

They were both laughing and crying as he slipped the ring over her finger and they hugged each other tight.

The couple was so caught up in their private moment, that they never even noticed the happy sniffles from the entryway behind them, or the two smiling teenagers who carefully opened the front door and slipped away stealthily into the night.

THE END