Author's Note: this is the part where the children all end up in Kurt's room *fluff*, oh and Olivia's rendezvous with a certain Hunter Clarington. Also, um, it was the dad, the Captain, that put the pine cone on Maria's chair, right? I'm pretty sure it was. If not, I will change it: just tell me.
Kurt's ears pricked as he heard the latch on his big, French windows open and he quickly resumed pretending to read. In the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of curly, blonde hair. Just as the girl was about to tiptoe out of his room, Kurt asked loudly, "Olivia! What a surprise. What are you doing here?"
Olivia's shoulders slumped, and she defeatedly turned around. Her curled locks were plastered wet on her forehead, her clothes clinging to her skin. "I...Please don't tell Papa."
Kurt raised a brow. "Of course not. Just the thought of what Sebastian would do when he finds you in such a state scares me already. I think the housekeeper accidentally gave me a few gowns in the bathroom. You can go change."
Olivia looked immensely grateful, her expression melting into a happy smile, her cold green eyes softening. "Thank you. I think you were right. I do need a tutor, and a nanny. And, well, maybe I do want one."
Kurt smiled at her as she gently closed the bathroom door shut. The pitter patter of the rain grew more pronounced, and he was forced to shut the windows. Drawing the curtains in, Kurt peered outside to make sure everything was fine when
-BOOM! Thunder clashed. Kurt heard little footsteps scampering and looked over his shoulder. Lips twitching to a reluctant smile, Kurt gestured Oliver, Marie, Emilie, and Jeanette over to his big bed. It was ridiculous how Sebastian thought one person would need that big of a bed. "Scared of thunder?" asked Kurt with a soft smile.
"Y-Yes," answered Jeanette for all of them. Her eyes were big and wide, hands clutching a little rag bunny.
"They're scary," added Emilie. Kurt opened his arms wide and Marie, Oliver, Emilie, and Jeanette all dived in the covers, snuggling up to Kurt.
"Where are the boys?" Kurt asked, tilting his head.
"All the boys, except Oliver of course, are so brave. They're not scared of anything!" declared Marie, but when the second lightning came, Marie instantly regretted her words.
Christopher and Jules stood by the doorway, faces as pale as snow. "Not scared of anything, huh?" remarked Kurt with a teasing sparkle in his eye.
Christopher blushed and said, "We wanted to make sure the girls were okay."
Jules nodded. "They'll probably be scared or something, so we wanted to be with them to be able to guard them."
Kurt laughed and gestured for them to come up the bed. "There's still room," he said at their questioning faces. Christopher jumped right in and Jules threw his arms around Kurt.
Oliver frowned and climbed on Kurt's lap, snuggling in. "He's mine!" he announced, and Jules stuck his tongue out.
"Is not," he retorted, clutching tighter.
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is-"
BOOM! Another strike of thunder. All the children burrowed inside the covers. All was silent for a while, Kurt clutching the children protectively, and the children clutching Kurt in fright.
"Kurtsie?" whispered Oliver. Kurtsie? thought Kurt, bemused. "Can you please sing a song for us?"
Instantly, a chorus of 'yes' and 'please Kurtsie!' (since when had that been his nickname?) drowned little Oliver's pleads. "Well, I...alright. What song?" Kurt asked.
Oliver raised his hand and Marie jumped up and down. "Papa used to sing, You Are My Sunshine, to us all the time, for bed. With a guitar," announced Olivia suddenly, surprising everyone, drying her hair in the doorway of the bathroom.
Everyone was quiet, staring at Olivia. "Yes, please Kurtsie," said Christopher quietly. "Can you sing that? I...I know it's childish, but...it's sort of our song."
Kurt smiled wobbly. "That's not childish. That's beautiful. My mother used to do the same thing."
Olivia settled to Kurt's right and rested her head on his shoulder. Blinking back tears, Kurt started singing.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
And I hung my head and cried"
To Kurt's surprise, Olivia joined in, her voice blending in perfectly with his.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
I'll always love you and make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me to love another
You'll regret it all some day"
At that last part, Kurt could only think of Blaine. His 'promises' to never cheat, never leave. His hazel eyes, his gelled dark hair. How he always treated Kurt with the utmost respect until the last few months. To Kurt's horror, his voice started to falter. Olivia took his hand and squeezed it gently. Christopher took Kurt's place, and just like that, the children started swinging, bobbing their heads, swaying their bodies. The lightning was forgotten. All that remained in place was the beautiful singing of the Smythe siblings.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
You told me once dear, you really loved me
And no one else dear, could come between
But now you've left me and love another
You have shattered all my dreams
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine awa-"
"Children." It was Sebastian, face drawn tight, but if Kurt didn't know any better. he'd say Sebastian looked like he wanted to cry in pride. "Go to your rooms. Olivia, that Hunter Clarington boy left something in the dining table, and I want you to return it."
Olivia's face dusted pink, and she murmured shyly, "I already did, Papa." Sebastian visibly tightened his jaw.
"We'll talk later," he promised, but the whole time, his eyes were remained on Kurt, who kept his face carefully blank.
The children filed out, and Sebastian strided across the room to gaze at Kurt. Kurt looked back boldly. "You…" Sebastian's voice was strained with some emotion. "I'm torn between hugging you or firing you," he finally said.
Kurt raised a brow. "Not to biased or anything, but I think the best option would be anything that doesn't fire me."
Sebastian shook his head, took a deep breath, and clutched the edge of the chair in front of the vanity. "No singing," he said after a pregnant pause. "No singing, no music." With that, he whirled around and walked off.
Kurt pursed his lips. No singing? No music? He would soon change that.
Author's Note: 'kay, that's that. Hope you enjoyed.