Moving On

What You've Been Missing

Man had it been a long day. There'd been an issue with a delivery which meant Burt didn't have all the parts to repair a car. This then meant he had to deal with an angry customer. He'd spent three hours on hold with the delivery company only to be told they had no record of his order.

He'd then spent the rest of the day doing inventory because one of the new guys he hired (the same one who'd apparently ordered the parts he'd need) didn't know how to record things properly and Burt had discovered he was running low on several other items.

Now, as pulled in the driveway, he wanted nothing more than to go inside and relax. At least, as well as he could with three eight year olds running around. And also apparently with Finn, Rachel, and Christopher here, Burt thought as he noticed Rachel's car in the driveway.

Burt walked inside and was greeted by... nothing. Total silence.

"Hello?" he called.

"Burt?" Carole's voice came from downstairs, "We're in the basement! Can you come down here for a minute?"

He made his way down the stairs. "Where are the kids? I don't think the house has been this quiet in..." He trailed off as the basement came into view.

Carole, Finn, and Rachel stood in the middle of the room staring at him expectantly and nervously.

Burt looked around the room at the walls that were covered in pictures. Most were recent and he knew were from the other's trip to see Noah, Kurt, and the kids. There were a couple others mixed in of himself with Kurt when his son was little.

"What is all this?" he asked, his voice tight.

"This is what you've been missing," Carole said, walking towards him. She took his hand and led him closer to the pictures.

"You and Kurt used to be so close," Carole went on as he stared at the photos. He saw Carole, Finn and Rachel, the triplets, and the old members of the Glee Club with the kids he knew were Shane and Maisie. Most of the photos though were of Kurt and Noah with their children.

"What did he do?" Burt asked, pointing to the cast Shane was wearing.

"He slipped on the stairs," Finn informed him.

"He alright now?"

"He will be," Carole nodded. "He has to keep the casts on for a while, but he's doing okay. It's a learning experience for all of them."

"But once those casts come off he'll just end up in new ones right?" Burt said quietly.

"Unfortunately yes," Carole said, "But again, it's a learning experience. Kurt, Noah, and the kids are all learning their limitations and about things that need to change or that they need to do. All these things should mean helping to keep Shane out of a cast for as long as possible."

Burt nodded, saying nothing more as he walked around the room still looking at the pictures. Everyone in them looked... happy.

"They're great kids," Carole said. "They were a little shy at first which wasn't surprising, but once they got used to all of us they were so sweet."

"They were," Rachel said, speaking for the first time, "And they're really smart. it wasn't like talking to an eight and four year old at all sometimes."

"Shane's apparently a big reader," Carole said.

"Oh yeah," Finn jumped in, "He read tons when I was there, not all little kid books either. Apparently Kurt and Puck were surprised by how good of a reader he was since most of the ones they had bought were too easy for him. He's also really into video games. Him and Maisie had never played any before, but Noah said they've been playing a lot together since they got there."

"And Maisie loves drawing," Carole told him. "That picture up on the fridge? The one next to Mia's? Maisie did that while I was there. She showed us her room and she's already covered the walls in pieces of paper with drawings and paintings on it. Kurt told me they're already planning to get her a little easel for Christmas this year."

Burt nodded slowly and Carole glanced back at her son and daughter-in-law who nodded encouragingly.

"Burt, I don't know why you've been acting the way you have," she said. "I have an idea, but only you really know for sure. What I do know is that this needs to stop. You have a son who loves you and misses you, a son-in-law who is trying to hold everything together, and two beautiful grandchildren who would love to meet you."

Burt said nothing and Carol sighed in frustration.

"It's time, Burt Hummel," she said firmly, "For you to make things right with this family."

With that, she turned and made her way back upstairs, Finn and Rachel following. Burt stayed where he was.

"What have I done?" he whispered

Sorry this wasn't up yesterday! I was at Fan Expo on Friday and Sunday so I spent yesterday relaxing and doing absolutely nothing.

I have been waiting to write this chapter for what feels like forever and I'm so happy with how it turned out. I've got lots of fluff coming up soon followed by lots of angst!

Thanks so much for reading!