That awkward moment when you write a new chapter and forget to post it (for a week)…

xoxoxo

State the appropriate code indicated next to your corresponding subspecies on the reverse side of form 2b. Only one code may be selected.

David skimmed the list, grateful that it was alphabetical. There were a lot more types of subspecies than he had thought. He knew all the typical ones: vampire, werewolf, nymph, gremlin, goblin, fairy. But what the hell was a narasimha? Or a tengu? He had come to the city hall expecting this to be a relatively simply matter. The ten-page packet he had been given to fill out begged to differ.

xoxoxo

As with most legal or government crap, David had driven to the city hall to take care of his business. He had stared at the directory next to the elevator for a good ten minutes, trying to figure out where exactly he should go, before he decided the clerk's office would probably be his best bet; it's where he went to register his vehicle, register to vote, file city and car taxes. It made the most sense…at least relative to his other options.

He really hoped it wasn't the police station where he was supposed to register.

There was a pretty young brunette filing forms and typing away at the front desk when he entered into the clerk's office. She looked young: not much older than himself. She was probably an intern or something: someone to weed out the stupid or paltry requests that would waste the clerk's time. When David came to stand before her, she smiled welcomingly, as she greeted him. David didn't miss the way her eyes travelled appreciatively up and down his body. "Ummm…Hi. I need to register?"

"A vehicle, marriage license, pet registration?"

David avoided eye contact with her, looking over the office as he mumbled, almost inaudibly, "Unhuman."

The girl craned her neck forward, her eyebrows raised, as though that would help her hear better, "I'm sorry, repeat that."

"Unhuman…I need a subspecies registration form."

Her smile vanished, her demeanor changed. Where once she had been smooth and calm, her motions became brusque and jerky. She clicked and typed away at her computer without looking once at David. The printer next to her began spewing out sheet after sheet. Once the printer had stopped whirring and clunking, she fisted the small stack of papers and shoved them towards David, still not looking at him. "Complete these and then give them back. You'll also need to go to the DMV within the next forty-eight hours to have your driver's license changed."

David had forgotten about that; federal law mandated unhuman subspecies have a color coded bar along the right hand side of their driver's license…to protect unwary police officers during traffic stops was the "politically correct" reason for this. The color of the bar indicated the level of potential danger the unhuman posed. David's would no doubt be a black bar – the highest level of danger. Of course, David was only dangerous as an unhuman during the full moon, but since there were werewolves who could change at will, it was simply easier to give them all black bars. Why judge the individual when you could lump an entire minority group together under one quick and easy stereotype? Just as David had done for the last seven years…

David sat with his paperwork in a small, uncomfortable, plastic chair, as far from the clerk's assistant as he could get. The first page was just the typical information found on most government forms: name, birthday, social security number, address, driver's license number, ethnicity, aliases, have you ever been convicted of a crime? Yadda, yadda, yadda.

He could breeze through all of that, but once it got to the actual registration questions, it got substantially more difficult. Not literally difficult: they weren't advanced calculus questions, nor were they confusing or complicated. It was just, with every question he answered, he became one question closer to exposing himself to the common public.

After selecting the code WW (for werewolf) and inputting it into the line that had requested the information, David continued on. Were you born a subspecies or were you converted? If you were born a subspecies, skip ahead to question ten. If you were converted, continue onto question three.

Question 3. Did you elect, of your own free will, to be converted or was the conversion forced upon you? If you elected to become an unhuman, please complete form 3a. If you were forced to become an unhuman, please complete form 3b.

David flipped through the packet until he found form 3b. When did the assault occur?

Did you file a police report relating to your assault? If yes, please indicate the case number on the lines provided. If you do not have the case number, please contact the police department where the case was filed and acquire the number. Once you have acquired the number, continue with this form. David rolled his eyes. He knew the case number by heart, thankfully. He used it as his password for any website that required both letters and numbers in your password.

The questions continued throughout the entire packet in much the same manner. Some of the questions were specific to his conversion, some to his manner of living, some to his police record (or lack thereof, in his case), some to his dietary habits – no doubt because of bloodsuckers like Blaine, some to his career (non-existent at this point in time). It just got more and more ridiculous. When the packet was completed, he dropped it on the desk in front of the girl. She didn't even glance up at him. She just flicked through the packet to make sure he had gotten everything. "Two pieces of ID please?" David dropped his driver's license and social security card on the desk in front of her. She looked them over and compared the information to the information he had written on the forms. "I feel compelled to remind you that if you knowingly provide any false information on this form you will be subject to federal, criminal, and potentially civil prosecution."

"I know." David lifted his chin slightly to see which page she was on that had prompted such a statement; it was his criminal history, of course. Apparently, she had difficulty believing he'd never committed a crime.

Notarizing his paperwork, she then placed the stack aside and pulled out a small quarter-sheet of triplicate paper. She copied some information from David's form before signing it and shoving it roughly towards David. "Sign here." She pointed to the lower left hand corner. David complied. She stripped the paper into its white, yellow and pink copies. She handed the yellow and pink to David. "The pink is for your own records. Take the yellow copy to the DMV. You have forty-eight hours."

"You said that, already. I'm going right now. Thank you." He made certain to say it as snidely as he could.

xoxoxo

Alex was freaking out at the front door, again. Kurt hadn't even heard anyone knock or ring the bell. Even so, Alex usually wasn't wrong about these things. Kurt pulled open the door and saw David standing on the front porch, his driver's license in hand. He held it facing Kurt. Kurt could clearly see the black stripe along the edge with the white, knockout lettering "werewolf." "Do you feel better?"

"Fan-freaking-tastic." Kurt stepped aside and let David slump into the living room. David collapsed on the couch and stroked his son tiredly after Alex jumped up after him.

"Want to talk about it?" David shook his head. "Would you like to talk about it Wednesday, then?" David furrowed his brow in confusion. "I talked to my shrink on the phone earlier. She said she'd be happy to talk to you at our next session. She thinks it'll be good for all of us – Me, you and Alex."

"I'm just not…I'm not a 'talky' person."

"I told her that." Kurt sat next to David, stroking Alex's back absent-minded. "She said if you weren't up to talking to her, you might consider talking to yourself." David's confusion persisted and deepened. "She said perhaps you should start a video diary. That way, I could play it for Wolf and he could get to see what he… you're like. I could make videos of Wolf with me and Alex so you could get to know him."

"That's…I'm tempted to say it's a stupid idea, but it's actually not that bad."

"We could start now, if you like?"

xoxoxo

Kurt was nice enough to give him privacy, understanding all too well how difficult and deeply personal this was for David. He gave him control of his laptop and swore to him he wouldn't watch the video. When it came time, in a month, for Wolf to watch the video, Kurt would set it up for him and then leave him alone to watch it on his own.

It took numerous false starts and mid-sentence stutters for him to get all of his thoughts out: how he felt about Wolf, how he felt about his mother's death, how he felt about the murder, how he felt about himself, and how he felt about Kurt and Alex. He was positive that their mutual love for Kurt and Alex was his and Wolf's only real common ground. It was incredibly awkward talking to himself, but Kurt (and his therapist) was right; it almost made him feel better, in some small way.

It took almost an hour for David to get his thoughts out, but after editing out the pauses, the repeated questions and comments, and some stupid stuff that just sounded dumb, it was only about ten minutes long. He saved the file to a special folder Kurt had made for him and Wolf, closed up the laptop and sat back, just reflecting.

What was he hoping to get out this little experiment? Did he want to make friends with Wolf? Yes, it would be easier on his family if the two of them liked each other or, god forbid, were aware of each other. But did he want to have any kind of relationship with that creature? Wolf had murdered someone in cold blood. And David remembered; it wasn't confusion or fear. He had wanted nothing more than to kill that man. Why? What reason could there be for that level of hate? He (he being both of them together at the time) had no idea why that man needed to die. He just…wanted it. Was that the type of person David wanted to ally himself with? And was it some kind of fluke? Had Wolf truly changed for the better, or had he simply disguised his baser desires around Kurt? Or what if David was the problem? What if it had been him that wanted to kill? He wasn't a non-violent person; not considering what his dream profession was. Had been? Was that even what he wanted out of life, anymore? Wolf's existence created too many questions for David: too many questions and not enough answers.

It didn't matter. Not now, anyway. He still had a month to figure things out.

David pushed himself away from the desk and stood; leaving Kurt's bedroom and heading downstairs, he spotted Burt Hummel. Kurt and Burt faced each other at the bottom of the stairs, whispering back and forth to each other. Both looked calm, which was a good thing as far as David was concerned. Burt now knew he was a werewolf; David full on expected to get poached by the man. But so far, things didn't look too bad. David walked down the stairs, not "announcing" his presence by saying anything or clearing his throat, but not being quiet about his presence, either. Both Kurt and Burt stopped in their discussion to face David. "Good afternoon, Mister Hummel."

"You're Wolf?"

Sheepishly, David nodded. "Yes, sir."

"And you didn't know?"

"I knew I was a werewolf, but not that I was Wolf, sir. If I had any idea–" David took a step closer to Burt, his hands held out pleadingly, but Burt cut him off.

"How the hell could you not know?"

"Dad, I explained it to you, already." Kurt held his hand in the crook of his father's elbow, trying to turn his father towards himself while simultaneously preventing him from moving closer towards David.

"Yeah, well it's still the stupidest shit I've ever heard." Turning back to David, Burt leveled a glare at him that could chill lava. "You plannin' on bein' a father to your kid, now?"

"Yessir."

"I ever get the slightest hint you ain't treatin' my grandson or son right, you will seriously regret it." David blanched while Kurt rolled his eyes. "Leave us for a second, Kurt." Kurt gave his father his best 'you're insane, right?' look. It was an interesting cross between his 'bitch-face' and his 'who let Rachel dress herself?' face, with one eyebrow raised, one lowered, his lips pursed and slightly frowned off to the side. Burt stood his ground, though. "I've already given him the obligatory father-threat. Go see about getting dinner started, or something. Ok?" Kurt continued to stare at his father. "I'm not gonna hurt him. Geez." Shaking his head in resignation, Kurt went off to the kitchen. When Burt was positive Kurt was out of earshot, he stepped closer to David. "I meant what I said. You ever do anything to hurt my family, I will hurt you."

"I understand s–"

Burt held his hand up, cutting off David. "That being said. I'm glad it was you."