Daddy Lessons Ch 2

It turned out that Toronto needed a nappy change, and both Kurt and Blaine were thankful that the creators hadn't bothered to make this part of the baby dolls' real. It was awkward enough trying to get the magnet on the back of the nappy in the right spot, especially when Toronto's cries got louder the longer it took.

Blaine's nerves were shattered by the time it was over, and he watched gratefully as Kurt picked Toronto up carefully, rocking him as he paced the room, rather than insisting on continuing the 'daddy lessons'.

Unable to help himself, Blaine came up behind Kurt, who had paused momentarily in his pacing, staring absently out the window. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist, nuzzling into his neck. Kurt grinned, leaning back into his boyfriend, still rocking Toronto.

"Want to go watch a movie?" Blaine asked softly, and Kurt nodded.

They settled downstairs, Kurt resting against the side of the couch with Toronto in his arms. Blaine sidled up against him after putting the movie on, gently stroking Toronto's legs. Kurt smiled.

It was a start.

^.^

It was dark when Finn opened the door after football practice. He found Kurt and Blaine slumped against each other, Toronto lying between them, making a deep snoring sound.

"Hey…" Finn half-shouted at them, making Blaine blink awake in surprise.

"Hmmph?" Blaine mumbled. "Shh…don't wake baby…"

"Burt'll be back soon." Finn warned them a little awkwardly, dumping his bag and heading to the kitchen.

"Burt…" Blaine mumbled, the name not really registering.

Kurt yawned next to him, shifting Toronto gently. He stood, glancing down at Blaine.

"Come on." Kurt said sleepily, shuffling towards the stairs.

Blaine frowned, watching him go, finally realising that he was supposed to follow.

"Hey Finn." Kurt muttered as he passed the kitchen, and Finn mumbled a reply, his mouth full of a chicken sandwich.

^.^

Kurt was rocking a crying Toronto by the time Burt poked his head in the room to say goodnight, some hours later.

"Night!" Burt grinned and Kurt smiled proudly when Toronto gave a happy gurgle.

"Night Dad." Kurt placed Toronto into his 'bed', and then curled up with a sleepy Blaine after his father had left them, leaving the door wide open.

No more than fifteen minutes later, Toronto started whimpering again.

Blaine frowned worriedly. "Should he be crying that much? He's been crying almost all afternoon!"

Kurt shrugged. "I've heard that the first night is the worst." He told Blaine, expertly swiping the bracelet and pushing the bottle to Toronto's mouth.

Toronto cried four more times over the next two hours.

Blaine was super-worried. "Are you sure he isn't broken?"

Kurt chuckled tiredly, getting up from Blaine's arms to tend to their child.

"I'm sure it's normal."

Burt appeared in the doorway as Toronto's cries subsided, thanks to a quick swipe of the bracelet and a nappy change. He looked rightly pissed and tired.

"Door gets closed. I've got work tomorrow." He closed the door behind him and Kurt and Blaine gave each other amused smirks – smirks that quickly died when Toronto started whimpering again.

^.^

Two hours later, Toronto finally stopped crying every twenty minutes or so, deciding instead that it was playtime, filling the room with his happy gurgles. Kurt and Blaine sprawled on the bed, arguing half-heartedly over who was going to stay up with Toronto, both scared that if they fell asleep they wouldn't wake up to his cries.

"You should sleep, Kurt."

"No. I'll be fine." He mumbled, his head already lolling.

"You do have school tomorrow."

"…'s only half a day…"

"Go to sleep." Blaine said firmly, stroking Kurt's hair as he finally slumped down to rest somewhere near Blaine's hip.

"…'mm not tired…"

"Sure you're not."

Blaine cut off the rest of Kurt's half-hearted protests, placing a finger against his mouth.

"Daddy Blaine and Toronto will be just fine. I promise to wake you if there's a problem…alright?"

Kurt kissed Blaine's finger. "Mmkay..." He mumbled, his voice trailing off.

Blaine zoned out for a little while, still playing with Kurt's hair. It would have been almost an hour later when he realised he'd have to get up before he actually fell asleep.  Barely seconds after he had that thought, Toronto whimpered.

Blaine moved faster than he thought possible, swiping the swipey thing across Toronto's chest, pressing the bottle against his lips in the same movement. When the whimpers continued, Blaine fumbled his way through a nappy change, sighing in relief when he heard the now familiar happy noise.

He'd done it!
And without waking Kurt, too!

His expression of achievement changed to alarm when the baby whimpered again. He swiped, trying the bottle first, before another nappy. The cries starting to get louder, Blaine talked his way through picking him up, still not entirely certain that he wasn't going to hurt the baby in some way.

Hand under the head.
Support the neck.
Smooth movements.

He coached himself desperately; finally able to rest Toronto against his shoulder, patting his back the way Kurt had shown him. He listened with a sense of accomplishment when Toronto's cries died back down to whimpers – a sure sign he was on the right path.

Gingerly, Blaine adjusted Toronto's limbs, aiming to be able to cuddle the baby against his chest easily. Holding him carefully, still wary of the fact that there was a baby in his arms, Blaine paced around the room for what seemed like hours, until Toronto finally burped.

Stealing a glance at the clock that had been turned to the wall, Blaine groaned. The rest of the house, (excluding Finn, of course; the guy was like a zombie in the mornings) would be up in twenty minutes or so.
And that included Kurt.

If Toronto cried again, Kurt would wake up for sure. Blaine sighed, grabbing the bottle, the nappy and Toronto's blanket before quietly opening the door, tiptoeing downstairs.

He collapsed on the couch, being careful of Toronto's neck as he did. His mind drifted to the Warblers, to school, and then to Kurt, which led to Toronto. He glanced down at the infant, giving him a small, fond smile and stroking his head gently.

"Maybe you're not so bad…" Blaine muttered, and in response, Toronto conveniently let out a whimper.

Blaine's eyes narrowed sleepily and he shot Toronto a half-hearted glare as he swiped his chest, pushing the bottle to Toronto's lips again. "I take it back."

Blaine didn't know how long he sat there, listening to the sounds of Toronto's drinking, but he sighed in relief when the happy noise echoed strangely loudly in the quiet of Kurt's house.

Now that Blaine thought about it, this couch was strangely comfy, and the stairs were a ridiculously long way away. He yawned, settling against the backrest and waiting for Toronto to cry again for burping. When it didn't come, Blaine relaxed and pulled Toronto against his chest, letting out a content sigh.

^.^

"Blaine, honey…" Carole was leaning over him. The very faint, pink, yellow and blue glow of dawn gleamed at Blaine from the half open window, slightly obscured by a curtain. "How long have you been here?"

Blaine was disoriented, but his first thought was to make sure Toronto was okay. He still had his arms wrapped protectively around the infant's small frame.

"What's the time…?" Blaine mumbled, still half asleep.

"Ten past six."

"Then…half an hour or so…"

"But why are you on the couch?"

Blaine blinked up at her. "Stayed up with my baby Tonto…Tonto noisy…Kurt go school… Kurt sleepy…" his voice trailed off, yawning and trying to cuddle into the couch again.

"Honey, I'll look after Toronto if you want to go upstairs to sleep?" Carole offered gently, a small smile on her lips.

Blaine shook his head, his eyes closing and letting out a small mumble of protest.

"Okay, shh…okay. It's okay…just go back to sleep…" Carole soothed, flicking a blanket over them.

^.^

Ten minutes later, Kurt bounced down the stairs, looking around and biting his lip. He spotted Carole in the kitchen and headed over.

"Carole, have you seen Toronto?" he asked, helping himself to coffee.

Carole looked up from her notepad with a smirk. "You mean Tonto?"

"Hmm?" he asked, draining his cup and refilling it.

She pointed at the lounge room. Kurt peered in the direction she pointing, noting his baby alive and not crying before helping himself to a bagel, seating himself opposite Carole at the bar.

He'd let Blaine have a little more bonding time, he reasoned with himself, picking at the bagel.

Carole looked up at him, smiling.

"I hope you realise how much your boy loves you." She said softly.

"How do you mean?" asked Kurt idly, trying to hide his proud blush.

"He's been asleep on that couch for at least an hour now, too scared to go upstairs in case 'his baby Tonto' wakes you." She informed him.

"His baby Tonto?" Kurt squealed happily. "Wait…what do you mean, asleep?"

"The poor dear was exhausted Kurt…and you don't have to stay awake to look after babies you know, they will cry loud enough to wake you." Carole told him patiently.

Kurt looked a little guilty.

"I didn't really expect you boys to know that." She finished, giving Kurt a small smile, kissing his cheek on her way past to put her cup in the sink. "I'm going to bed now…have a good day with Tonto."

She grinned and headed upstairs.

Kurt still felt guilty for leaving Blaine with their baby all night, and headed into the front room. He carefully scooped Toronto up into his arms, trying hard not to disturb his sleeping boyfriend.

Despite his efforts, Blaine immediately sat up with a half-flail, missing the weight of Toronto.

"I've got him…" Kurt said softly, and Blaine's dazed eyes fell on Toronto and then Kurt. "Go back to sleep."

Kurt gave Blaine an affectionate stroke on the head before Blaine flopped down against the backrest again, and Kurt watched him fondly for a while, collecting Toronto's supplies before planting himself on the second couch.

Classes for Kurt started at lunch today, so he'd let Blaine get a couple more hours of sleep. A few minutes later, Burt appeared at the base of the stairs, dressed and ready for work. He gave Kurt a half-hearted wave and seemed to only then notice Blaine on the couch.

"Did you guys have a fight or…" Burt whispered.

Kurt shook his head with a small smile and Burt shrugged, heading into the kitchen. Kurt followed him in, rocking Toronto.

"How'd the first night go?"

Kurt shrugged. "He cried…a lot. Blaine eventually made me sleep."

Burt looked through the opening at Blaine. "He's a good kid." Burt patted Kurt on the shoulder. "You've got good taste."

Kurt opened his mouth to respond, but Burt cut him off with a pat to his shoulder.

"Sorry kiddo, gotta run."

Kurt smiled, hurrying after him as he remembered his sleeping boyfriend.

"Dad!" he hissed frantically. "Don't slam the-" the front door slammed, cutting off the rest of his sentence.

Kurt sighed, turning anxious eyes to Blaine, who was trying to stand, getting tangled in the blanket. Smiling, Kurt smiled, setting Toronto gently on the couch before moving to help his sleep deprived boyfriend win his freedom from the nasty evil blanket.

He wrapped his arm around Blaine's waist, half-holding him up as Blaine cuddled sleepily into his side. Kurt helped him up the stairs and into his bed with a kiss on his forehead. He wouldn't have left his side but for Toronto downstairs, all alone, as well as the fact that Blaine had let him sleep undisturbed. It was the least he could do in return.

On his way down the stairs, he met Finn, who was sleepily trying not to fall face first onto the landing.

"Morning Finn!" Kurt cried cheerfully, passing him and almost knocking his stepbrother down.

"What?"

Kurt laughed. "Good morning…"

Finn was about to say something (that would most likely come out incoherent) when they were interrupted by the sad whimpers of Toronto from the couch. Kurt bolted down the stairs, swiping Toronto's chest, picking him up.  He tried the bottle, but Toronto's cries didn't cease. After a nappy change and three or four minutes of rocking, Toronto's cries were getting louder and more urgent. He tried swiping the bracelet again, repeating the cycle of needs before he started to panic.

Upstairs, Blaine could hear his child screaming. His disoriented and sleepy brain was confused, and he made it to the door before fully realising what the crying meant.

"Kurt?!" Blaine's eyes widened as Toronto let out an ear piercing scream, cutting off halfway with the tell-tale crackling that came with faulty technology.

The emptiness and silence of the house was almost eerie as Blaine bolted down the stairs, finding Kurt standing in the middle of the room, staring at Toronto with horrified, tear filled eyes. Finn stood in the archway to the kitchen, looking absolutely mortified.

"Blaine...I think…I think I killed him!" Kurt wailed.

Finn blinked at them sleepily, still trying to process what had happened before giving up with a shrug, heading back into the kitchen.   

"Kurt, calm down! What happened?" Blaine stepped forward, taking Kurt's arm gently.

"One minute he was crying, and I couldn't work out what he wanted and there was this clunking noise and now I can't hear the motor or anything!" He explained, his eyes wide, pulling away from Blaine. "Oh god, he's dead. I killed him. I killed our baby." Kurt whimpered, hysterical.