Kurt thanked Paul as he took the cup of tea from him. His voice sounded small, tired, and hollow even to his own ears. Paul sat down beside him, his own cup of tea balanced on his knee between his palms. They hadn't said a whole lot since they got back upstairs. There had been about ten heated minutes of "What the hell do you mean that's David?"

"I mean that David is a werewolf and that is David."

Kurt was still trying to process that through his brain. Paul promised to explain once Kurt had calmed a bit and the shock had worn off. Kurt was still in shock, but at least he felt calmer about the whole situation and was probably ready to listen to what Paul had to say. "Can you just…explain things to me? I won't interrupt or get angry; I just…I need a bit more information before I can start processing this."

Paul had the teacup against his lips and lowered it as Kurt spoke to him. He thought over what he could tell Kurt. How much did Kurt know? How much did he, Paul, not know? "You didn't know David was a werewolf?" Kurt shook his head. "Of course not. The wolf that killed my wife – David's mother – it bit him, as well. We hid it from everyone. I doubt David's ever talked about it with anyone. It's too painful…for both of us. When David turned that first time…we were both still in denial. We were completely unprepared. He remembers the first time he turned; it's the only time he can actually remember being a werewolf. His instincts forced him to hunt, that first time." There was no need to tell Kurt what exactly it was that David had hunted. David would tell Kurt when… if he was ever ready. "The event traumatized him. After that, we tried everything we could to keep the wolf under control: chains, drugs, finally we got the cage. When the cage couldn't even hold David…I found him hanging in his closet. His lips were blue. He just couldn't deal with it anymore." Kurt wanted to cry for the child David had once been. He had been forced to deal with too much at too young an age. "I bought a different type of lock for the cage and plead with the werewolf. I wouldn't attempt to lock him up anymore if he came back and returned to the cage before the change came."

"Why?" Kurt knew he was breaking his promise not to interrupt, but there were some things he just had to know. If he didn't know the whole story he couldn't know how mad he was supposed to be with David. Make no mistake about it, he was definitely pissed at David for lying to him, but how pissed was he supposed to be? And it was kind of hard to be angry with David right now; David would be having a hard enough time without Kurt biting his head off when he woke up in the morning.

"So that David would never know. If David thought the cage kept the werewolf locked up, he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. He could go back to living a normal life. As far as David knows, the cage hasn't failed since I got the new lock."

There was a prolonged, heavy silence between the two of them. Kurt assumed Paul was finished talking. What more could be said? David was completely oblivious to what went on with Wolf every full moon and Paul probably had no idea, either. Once Wolf was outside, he was free to do as he pleased and he hadn't hurt anyone – at least not as far as the news was concerned – so Paul never had any reason to be suspicious of Wolf's extra-curricular activities. "What was that place downstairs? What was all that stuff?"

Paul's lower lip jutted out as he thought, his eyes were downcast, and he swirled the tea in his cup by tilting it back and forth. "David could have gone back to living a normal life…but what happened to him and his mother consumed him. He wants to be a slayer someday."

"I know. We've talked about it before."

"He collects weapons used against different types of unhumans…in preparation for his future career. It's an obsession with him."

Kurt nodded. He knew that already, though David had calmed about the whole slayer-thing since Alex was born. "I…I don't know how to feel about any of this. I'm mad at David for not telling me he was a werewolf. But, at the same time, it's obviously painful for him. And he didn't know that he was Wolf." Kurt looked at Paul for confirmation. If David did know he was Wolf, Kurt might just have to kill him.

But Paul nodded, agreeing with Kurt that David didn't know. "If David had known…I couldn't even begin to hazard a guess how he'd react. I'm afraid I'd lose my son, though. I'm still afraid I'll lose my son, once he finds out."

Kurt wanted to disagree with Paul. David wouldn't hurt himself because of this. Not once he realized Alex was his son. But…he couldn't say with any certainty how David was going to react.

"Your son…" Paul snorted to himself as something occurred to him. "My grandson," a smile spread throughout Paul's face, changing him from a tired, overworked, middle-aged man, into an excited, rejuvenated grandfather. "What's he like?"

Kurt pulled out his cell phone. Despite the amount of times Kurt tried calling David earlier in the evening, the battery still hovered around seventy percent. Clicking on the camera app, Kurt started thumbing through various pictures of Alex. "This is the most recent."

"Is that Moo Cow under him?"

Alex sat on Moo Cow, chewing on his head. Moo Cow's eyes were closed and Kurt clearly recalled the kitten had been purring happily. "Yeah. I think David really bought Moo Cow as a pet for Alex. Alex adores him."

Kurt flicked backwards through the camera roll, showing Paul pictures of his grandson playing, sleeping, eating, posing, some candid shots. He even had some pictures of Alex on his phone where his eyes still hadn't opened and he had barely learned to push himself across the floor. "He's really adorable. Are there any pictures of him as a human?"

Kurt shook his head. "He was conceived during the full moon, so it'll take a while for him to figure out how to change. It isn't like when you get bit and the change just happens. My werewolf baby book says he should start figuring it out around five months or so."

Paul nodded. "How old is he?"

"He was born September 5th."

Paul's eyes went wide. "He's three months old?" Kurt nodded. "I'm kind of surprised. He looks…pretty advanced for being a three month old."

"Some areas werewolf pups progress more quickly than their human counterparts. Eventually, his human side and werewolf side will find an equilibrium so he's exactly where a normal child would be, but that can take some time."

"Can I send some of these to my own phone?" Kurt nodded and went to show Paul how to send the pictures, but Paul apparently already knew how. It took a bit of time, but Paul eventually set "some" (i.e. all) of the pictures of Alex to his own phone. "I work today until five…I have some meetings I cannot get out of, as much as I'd love to. Could you maybe bring Alex over this evening? I'd like to meet him."

"Of course! And you and David can come celebrate Alex's first Christmas with him over at our house in two weeks…" in a quieter voice, Kurt added on, "I know you and David aren't very close to the rest of your family."

Paul's entire face lit up. "That would be wonderful. David and I haven't had a real Christmas for years. Not since before everything. And Christmases with children are the best." Kurt and Paul talked about everything they could think of for the next two hours. Kurt told Paul about his own perspective of events since he had met Wolf. Paul told Kurt about David as a child growing up. Kurt told Paul the truth about the troubles he and David had had as juniors. Finally, around two in the morning, Kurt fell asleep on the couch.

xoxoxo

It was still dark out when Kurt woke up. Unable to find Paul, Kurt went downstairs to check on Wolf. Wolf was gone, but Paul was downstairs, asleep in the recliner, an alarm clock glowing the numbers 6:15 next to him. The glass had been swept, and most of David's unhuman-fighting artillery had been gathered into a pile. Kurt looked over the different metal, plastic, and more obscure items until the alarm clock began buzzing fifteen minutes later. Paul, sucking in a deep breath, slapped the alarm clock next to him, silencing it. "He left around five. Somehow I don't think he'll be back before sun-up."

"So what happens now?"

"David will wake up in the middle of the forest, probably. He'll no doubt be upset about Wolf getting out of his cage, but he was going to find out about it one way or another today, anyway. For now, I'll start making him breakfast. He's always hungry after the change." Paul pushed himself out of the chair and began heading upstairs.

"I like to cook; can I help?"

Paul nodded. "That would be a great help, actually." Kurt ended up doing all of the cooking so that Paul could catch a few more minutes of sleep before work. Kurt still didn't know what Paul did for a living, but didn't really feel comfortable asking. He made David eggs and sausages and bacon and toast and oatmeal. He would never allow his own father to eat such a…heavy breakfast, but David was a werewolf and werewolves were primarily carnivores. All the greasy meats wouldn't hurt him; his body was designed for it.

About seven thirty, Kurt could hear the back door open. Sucking in his lower lip and chewing it nervously, Kurt waited for David to come inside. When David pushed open the inner back door, his appearance shocked Kurt. Kurt had never much thought about "the change," but he had kind of taken it for granted that David would have clothes. Instead, he was naked.

And filthy. There were dirt stains all over him. He looked like a disgusting mess. Dried mud was caked over his feet and calves. He had scratches all over his body from walking, unprotected, through bushes, trees and saplings. Even worse though, was the look of abject despair on his face that morphed into confusion as he spotted Kurt. "What are you doing here?"

"Umm…your dad and I need to talk to you."

Paul forced David to eat breakfast and get dressed before he would allow Kurt to talk to him. After that, Kurt sat beside David on the couch, holding his hand, as Paul and Kurt filled in the blanks in David's life. As the morning sun rose and filled the living room with light, David's countenance got darker and darker. He wasn't reacting well to the news. At one point he had even erupted from his seat and started yelling and cursing at his father for lying to him for years. Kurt had pulled him back down to a sitting position and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. David tensed under Kurt's touch, but became limp through depressive exhaustion a few moments later. When Paul and Kurt had finished talking, David just shook his head. "Would you like me to stay home today, David? I can tell the other directors there's been an emergency or something."

David shook his head. "Honestly, I kind of don't even want to look at you right now. You've been lying to me for – what? – seven years? An unregistered werewolf has been running around the Redzone for seven years. If anyone had ever spotted me, I'd have been thrown in jail for violation of the Subspecies Identification Act. I'm going to have to go to the town hall and register as an unhuman now. Everyone's going to know what I am."

Kurt placed his hand over David's. "Paul, why don't you go to work? I'll stay with David."

David shook his head. "No…it's ok. I'd actually rather be alone right now." Kurt and Paul exchanged worried glances; the looks did not go unnoticed by David. "I'm not going to off myself. Goddammit. I just need some time by myself right now." David stood up and paced around the room, running his fingers through his hair and tugging at it every so often. Reluctantly, Kurt and Paul got up and left, but Kurt informed David…threatened more like it, to return later in the day.

xoxoxo

Thankfully, he was apparently incompetent as a werewolf. He had done a good job destroying display cases, but most of David's "toys" were more or less unharmed. They were pretty durable anyway, but a werewolf with intent could easily smash just about anything he wanted to. After sitting and moping for a while after his father and Kurt left, he had gotten to work cleaning up the mess that Wolf…that he had made.

He was Wolf.

Wolf – the creature he hated – was him.

What the hell kind of cruel mindfuck was that?

David sat in his father's recliner, staring at the overturned cage on the floor. He wasn't strong enough to right it, and debated whether or not it was worth the effort. It obviously didn't do its job. Should he keep it as a memorial to his naivety? Should he sell it: try to make something out of it? Or should he just scrap it for the garbage it was?

David didn't have time to really dwell on any of his ideas, because he heard a strange jingling noise and the clicking of claws of wood. A moment later Alex was in his lap, attacking his face with licks. "Hey, buddy." His voice lacked any semblance of emotion and simply sounded defeated.

Just behind Alex, came Kurt, practically running down the stairs. "Sorry, I thought you would be in your room and put him down in the living room. He ran down here though. Oh, good. The glass is gone. How are you…how are you doing?"

David shrugged. "As well as could be expected after finding out my father has been lying to me for seven years, endangering me as well as innocent people. I feel like I can't trust him after this."

"He did what he thought was best…Hmm, kind of reminds me of how you lied to me about being a werewolf."

David's face became taut as it screwed up in thought. "I never thought it was important to tell you; I thought the wolf was under control, locked in a cage every full moon."

Kurt kneeled down beside David, stroking his son's fur as he lowered himself. "Your father never thought it was important to tell you. Wolf is harmless."

David snorted. "As harmless as a black mamba."

"I've known Wolf for months now. He's as much a puppy as Alex." Kurt smiled fondly at David. "You're just a big puppy. During those brief moments that you let yourself go and just be, you are Wolf. You're both big puppy dogs. Friendly and fun and loyal and loving." Almost as an afterthought, Kurt added, "Alex is your son, David. How do you feel about that?"

David looked down at Alex. Alex had his head cocked to the side, his mouth slightly open and his tongue lolling out. He looked like he was waiting for his father's answer just as eagerly as Kurt was. "It's the only halfway decent thing to come out of this."

"It feels like fate."

"How so?"

"I fell in love with you as Wolf and I fell in love with Wolf as you. If that doesn't scream 'fate,' I don't know what does."

xoxoxo

Sorry, I know most of you were expecting/looking forward to Kurt tearing Dave a new one, but it just didn't feel right to me. Yes, David lied to him, but now Kurt gets a real father for Alex and he doesn't have to pick between the two guys he loves. I kind of figured the "pros" would lessen the evils of the "cons" a bit (if not completely).