AN: A tag to the Kurt/Burt scene in the season 4 premiere. Spoiler Alert. Inspired by lyrics from "One Life, One Chance" by What's Eating Gilbert.
I looked out the window as the airport below me got smaller and smaller. Were one of those cars Dad's, still sitting there watching the doors I had disappeared through, or had he headed home. I hadn't seen tears in my father's eyes that many times in my life, but I hadn't missed them today. In some ways, that made leaving even harder for me, knowing it was hurting him to let me go. It had been just me and my Dad for so long before Carol and Finn came into our lives. Even then, my Dad was the most important person in my life. Leaving him was hard, but children leaving home was a natural part of life. It was the way things were meant to be and I knew my Dad wanted me to pursue my own dreams - the hints all summer about going to New York anyways even after I had signed up for classes at the community college were evidence of that. More than ever though, I was glad that Dad had Carol now, because the thought of him being alone would have been too much to bear.
As the clouds swallowed up the familiar sights of where I had grown up, I thought about what lay ahead. I was leaving behind everything I had ever known, and the three people who loved me most, to pursue a dream. I had now job in New York City nor a place to live. All that was waiting there for me was a hotel room and my best friend. But the opportunities in the city were abundant, all I had to do was apply myself. My Dad had taught me that. Armed with that and the rest of the wisdom he had passed down to me over the years, I knew that eventually I would land on my feet.
Reaching up, I wiped away a few tears. I would miss what I was leaving behind, but it was now time to face the future. Blaine was right, I didn't necessarily need NYADA. I still planned on reapplying and maybe even checking out some of the other musical program at other schools, but perhaps I would take a stab at a few auditions in the meantime. Madam Tibideaux had seemed impressed with my audition even if I hadn't made the cut for NYADA, so there was still hope. No one had ever said being a performer was easy, but I sure was going to give it my all.