Moving On

The Kids

            "Hey Burt!"

            Burt rolled out from under the car and looked up at Finn.

            "Don't you have to go get the kids?" Finn asked, pointing at the clock. Burt looked and realized his stepson was right, if he didn't leave now he'd be late getting the kids from school.

            "You're good here?" Burt asked.

            "Yup," Finn nodded, "It's not busy so if it stays this way I'll be by to get Chris right after closing."

            "Sounds good," Burt said, clapping Finn on the should as he walked out of the garage and over to his truck.

            He made it to the elementary school with just a minute to spare and he parked, waiting for the kids to come out. He'd been getting Mia and the boys here for four years now and he still felt weird being back here sometimes. The place looked exactly the same as when Kurt went here and Burt still found it hard to believe he was back so many years later.

            The bell rang and kids came flooding out of the school. Burt saw Mia and Patrick walk out and look around for a moment before spotting their father's truck. they ran over and climbed in.

            "Hey guys, where's Ian?"

            "Ms. Smith wanted to talk to him," Mia said, "Daddy, guess what! We're having a Games Day!"

            "You are?" Burt said.

            "Yep!" She handed him a form and Burt read it over.

            "We're gonna play soccer and run and shoot a basketball and there's a three-legged race and, and, lots of other stuff!" Mia exclaimed excitedly and Burt chuckled. Out of the three, Mia was definitely the most athletic. She was on a soccer team, had been dancing for ages, and loved throwing a football around with Finn.

            "What about you Patrick? You excited for Games Day?" Burt asked.

            "I guess," Patrick shrugged, "I'm excited for some of it, but I don't like the three-legged race part. Burt smiled sympathetically at his son. Ever since Patrick was little he hadn't been a huge fan of anyone touching him. A hug from his parents was fine, and sometimes he'd even cuddle up with Finn or Kurt when they were over. But kids at his school? Nope, no chance. The only ones he had no issue with were Mia and Ian.

            "I'm gonna ask Ms. Smith if we can be on a team together so we can do the race together," Mia said and Burt smiled at them. Patrick and Mia were on the same soccer team, but he definitely wasn't as enthusiastic about sports as his sister. Patrick was definitely the more studious of the three and always came home with the highest grades.

            "I'm sure it'll be alright," Burt told him, "Your mom and I can talk to Ms. Smith if there's a problem, okay?"

            Patrick nodded.

            "There's Ian!" Mia exclaimed, pointing and Burt looked to see she was right. The eight year old walked over and hopped into the truck.

            "Hey bud, how was school?" Burt asked.

            "Okay," Ian shrugged. Burt watched him in the review mirror and knew something was wrong. He and Carole would talk to him when they got home. He started up the truck and drove off home, listening as Mia and Patrick animatedly talked about their day. They pulled up to the house and the kids climbed out, running to the door. Ian and Burt followed slowly.

            "You okay buddy?" Burt asked and Ian shrugged again. "We'll talk when we get in, okay?" Ian nodded and they walked inside as Carole was getting the other two settled at the kitchen table with their homework.

            "Hey, Chris is napping upstairs," Carol said when she saw them, "How was school sweetheart?" Ian shrugged again and Carole looked at Burt who gestured for her to join them on the couch.

            "Everything okay?" Carole asked, sitting next to their son.

            "Ian had a bad day at school," Burt said.

            "What happened sweetheart?" Carole asked gently.

            "Some kids in my class were making fun of me," Ian said quietly, "They stole my notebook and drew all over it and they were throwing things at me."

            "Is that why Ms. Smith wanted to talk to you after school?" Burt asked.

            "Yeah," Ian nodded, "She told me just to ignore them. But I've tried ignoring them and it doesn't work!"

            "Do you want me and your dad to go talk to your teacher?" Carole asked.

            "Not yet," Ian shook his head, "I want to do it myself first."

            "Okay," Carole said gently, "But you tell us if it gets too bad, okay?"

            Ian nodded and then went to join his brother and sister to do homework.

            "You okay?" Carole asked her husband.

            "This is how the bullying started with Kurt," Burt told her, "And it just kept getting worse for years."

            "He's okay now though," Carole reminded him.

            "Yeah," Burt sighed, "Maybe he can talk to Ian later. make sure he's really alright."

            "That sounds great," Carole smiled at him just as a cry came from upstairs.

            "Well, someone's awake," she said, standing and heading upstairs.

            Burt sat there quietly for a moment before the phone rang and Burt smiled when Kurt's name popped up.

            "Hey bud, what's going on?"

Was that a good introduction to the triplets? I wanted to make them all sort of different and even though they won't be in every single chapter, I'm going to try and make their personalities show when they do make appearances.

Thanks so much for reading and let me know what you think!