"Apparently, it isn't that uncommon. Especially with younger parents, first time parents and single parents. I'm pretty much all of the above. It's getting better, though. My friends and family have really helped…ease a bit of the stress. I'm hoping…well, what I'm saying is…I could really use your help more with Alex. I need you to take some responsibility with him." Kurt had been fidgeting with the hem of his nightshirt the entire time he explained to Wolf what had been going on with him since last they saw each other. He wasn't sure how Wolf would react. Any number of possibilities had entered into Kurt's mind from Wolf viewing him as a complete nutjob and unfit parent, and taking Alex away from him, never to be seen again, all the way to Wolf immediately turning back into a human, sweeping Kurt into his arms, and promising to take care of him and Alex for the rest of their lives. Of course, neither was very likely, but until he saw how Wolf reacted, he wouldn't know which was closer to the truth.

Wolf had listened intently, his ears pricked up and his head cocked to the side. Kurt had done his best to explain everything to the best of his ability, explaining all the symptoms he was feeling from both the depression and the Paxil his doctor had prescribed and elaborating when he felt necessary. Wolf wasn't a complete idiot, but past experiences had shown that he wasn't a genius either.

When he was finished, Wolf leaned forward and swiped his tongue gently across Kurt's neck and cheek. Kurt closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax. While his eyes were still closed, Kurt could feel Wolf place one arm behind his back and one arm behind his knees. In one smooth gesture, Wolf scooped Kurt up and placed him in the loveseat against the back wall of Alex's nursery. Kurt tried to sit up in the loveseat, but with a firm paw, Wolf nudged him back into a lying position. There was an afghan throw draped across the seat that Wolf tugged down and pulled over Kurt. Once again, Kurt tried to sit up, but Wolf, once again, halted his movements. Wolf licked across Kurt's forehead reassuringly and just stared at him until Kurt relaxed and started closing his eyes.

xoxoxo

A lot of what Kurt had said made sense to Wolf. Human's depression sometimes leaked through the barriers between their minds; Wolf understood how painful – yet strangely numbing – depression could be. He also appreciated the fact that he really did need to take more responsibility with Alex. Kurt was the perfect mate, acting as both mother and father to their child. What was Wolf? Wolf was little more than a shadow in their baby's life.

Alex had been sitting rather impatiently in his crib, waiting for his two daddies to stop talking. He gnawed at the railings trying to get Wolf's attention. When Kurt's heartbeat had settled into a slow, steady, sleeping rhythm, Wolf plodded over to the crib. He stood up, towering over the sides of the crib and bent down to pick up Alex by the scruff. Alex fidgeted between his father's teeth for a moment before stilling: pulling his feet against his body and tucking up his tail between his legs the way instinct told him to. Wolf dropped down to all fours and headed out of the nursery and down the stairs, giving Kurt some time to rest while he spent time with his son. Wolf had gotten much better at manipulating the doorknob that led out to the back porch. His fur bristled when he stepped through into the night air; it was starting to get chillier out. He was very accustomed to the cold, but wasn't certain about Alex; he'd have to keep a close eye on his son to make sure he didn't get too chilly.

Wolf trotted towards the tree line with Alex, dropping him in the dewy grass right before they got to the tree. Wolf nudged Alex until Alex was in a seated position in the grass. Turning around, he headed off into the woods. Stopping short and looking over his shoulder, he could see Alex had scuttled after him. Wolf rolled his eyes and returned to his son. Placing his paw on Alex's back, he pushed down on him until Alex was in a lying position, just like he had with Kurt. Unlike Kurt, Alex flopped down onto his side, under the weight of his father's paw, flattening himself out on the ground dramatically. Wolf turned back around and returned to the woods, only to hear Alex stand, shake himself off, and scurry after him. Wolf was very tempted to growl; Alex was not doing what he wanted him to do. He had to be patient with him; if Kurt could get Alex to do what he wanted, Wolf could too.

Picking Alex up by the scruff again, Wolf returned to the Hummel's backyard. He dropped Alex over the side of his pen, the small pup landing with a grunt. Wolf didn't care too much for the pen; it was a giant cage as far as he was concerned, but Alex probably saw it no different than his crib. Once Alex was safe enclosed by his pen, Wolf bounded off into the trees. If took him about five minutes to find what he was looking for, another ten to chase it down, and another five to set up "class" for his son.

Wolf had tracked and killed a raccoon and dragged its carcass in a series of loops and curved paths along the ground before hiding the remains under a pile of leaves, moss and dirt. It was to be his son's first lesson in tracking. Returning to the pen, he found Alex happily keeping himself busy eating grass. Wolf leaned over the side of the pen and snatched him up again. Carrying Alex into the trees, Wolf dropped him at the start of the trail he had created. Alex had never been into the woods before. He began sniffing at the rocks, the leaves and the trees. To Wolf, Alex seemed completely oblivious to the very obvious scent trail Wolf had created with the dead raccoon. Placing his paw on Alex's head, he pushed him down until his nose was a mere inch above the ground and then very deliberately sniffed at the ground himself. Alex followed his father's example, but did nothing more. Wolf nudged Alex along the trail a foot or so, before pushing his nose back down into the scent. When Alex still didn't get it, Wolf started, slowly, following the trail himself, his nose firmly against the ground as he tracked the trail he had made. After a few feet, Alex began mimicking his father and quickly caught on. After a few feet of following his father's example, Alex scurried ahead, showing off. A few times Alex wandered off the trail, following another interesting scent, but with Wolf's help, or even a few times on his own, Alex found the trail again. Wolf stopped miming the action of following the trail and watched his son proudly. If he could, he would smile.

"WOLF!" Wolf's back went rigid and he froze. This didn't sound good. "Dammit Wolf!" Slowly, Wolf turned around to see his angry mate stalking towards him. Kurt looked pissed.

Whole new levels of pissed.

Wolf had never heard the word "pissed" before, but something in his and Human's shared knowledge of language told him that that's what Kurt was. It was a type of angry completely unlike anything Wolf had ever seen before. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I wake up and Alex is nowhere to be found. I can't find you; I can't find my son. I started panicking. Thankfully, I was calm enough to check out here before I woke everyone else in the house. Do you know what my father would do if I told him you had just taken off with our son?" Kurt didn't give Wolf a chance to respond…as if there were anyway he could respond. "I'll tell you what, we'd have a brand new werewolf-skin rug in our front foyer." Wolf flicked his head to the left, quickly checking on Alex to make sure his son was still on the trail. "You of all people have to understand how dangerous the Redzone is. There are any number of Unhumans living out here…or hunting out here. Not to mention other animals or just…Alex can get hurt on anything! He's a baby! He's delicate."

Alex was anything but delicate. That little fur ball could revival a force of nature if he wanted to. Of course Wolf couldn't say that to Kurt and wasn't entirely sure he'd want to. Something told him talking back, or any kind of talking at this point, would be hazardous to his health. For once, he was grateful he couldn't talk. He had to admit though, his mate was kind of attractive when he was like this. He was like a feisty mama bear or something. "When I said I wanted you to take more responsibility with Alex, I assumed you would realize that meant to be more responsible with him." Alex had doubled back around so he was behind Kurt now, still focused on the trail. He wasn't too far from the raccoons hiding place now. Between Kurt's flushed face and angry excitement and Alex's successes at following a scent trail, Wolf was starting to get excited. He wanted to celebrate with his son and then "celebrate" with his mate.

Alex had found the pile of leaves.

Wolf was starting to get antsy. These last few moments before Alex found his goal seemed to take forever. Kurt was still yelling at him though, so he distracted himself by looking back at his mate, "…really tired. I just wish you could be there for us more often. I get that there's something keeping you from staying in the mornings, but I'm at my wits ends, Wolf. You need to figure something out." He could hear Alex snuffling around in the leaves, digging through the pile somewhere behind Kurt. "Please, just try to work with me here. The countdown's begun, Wolf. I'm not gonna wait around forever for you to figure things out." He could hear Alex trotting back towards them; Wolf could vaguely see something in his son's mouth. Had he bit off a piece of the raccoon? Wolf's tail swished happily back and forth. Kurt turned to look where Wolf was and spotted his son. "Ugh, and I don't want him eating things like this. They're dirty." Kurt bent down and pulled a medium sized pinecone out of Alex's mouth. Wolf's elation deflated. "Don't you know these things are covered in bugs?"

xoxoxo

Kurt's anger didn't seem like it would abate any time soon. Wolf thought it was best for them all if he left early for the night; he would come back tomorrow and hopefully Kurt's anger would have ebbed a bit by then.

Wolf was angry, as well. Not with Kurt though. Or even himself. He was angry with Human for being so inflexible: so full of hate and anger towards unhumans. He felt the need to work out some of his anger. He picked an appropriate scent trail and followed it for an hour or so. It led to a small, tight copse. Wolf waited on the outskirts of the collection of small trees and bushes for a few minutes, hoping his pray would run off in fear; it seemed intent on waiting him out though, hoping Wolf hadn't spotted it. Down on all fours, Wolf built up a large howl that seemed to start in his lower back, traveled up through his shoulders and finally through his head until he threw his head back and let it out. A deer erupted from the trees and fled, crashing against the trunk of a large oak in its haste to escape from Wolf.

Wolf gave it a few minutes head start before taking off after it. He intentionally held back, letting the deer keep a good lead on him instead of bursting forward to take it out in one swift move. He continued to chase it throughout the early hours of the morning. When he finally got bored, Wolf caught up with the deer and pounced on it, tackling it to its side. The deer froze and watched him, trying not to struggle and prolong the inevitable.

Wolf wasn't hungry though. Once the deer was in total submission and had stopped so much as flinching, Wolf stood up and wandered away. The deer waited a second before struggling to its feet and running off.

Down on all fours, Wolf walked slowly down the stairs leading into the basement. Human's father was asleep in the recliner. Wolf approached him cautiously, watching his chest steadily rise and fall. Wolf missed the days when he was his father, as well: back when they could talk, and play together, and he could comfort him and tell him how to fix all of his problems. Wolf turned around and crawled into his cage, curling up in a circle before awaiting the change.