"Sorry about making you wait and please excuse the mess," Kurt said breathlessly. He gestured to the arm chair as he sat on the couch. "Sophie's been running a bit of a fever the past couple of days and the housekeeper only comes during the week and I just hav-"

Blaine held up his hands, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "It's okay, I've seen worse. My sister-in-law was sick for a week and my brother is horrible at cleaning, so their house looked like a tornado hit."

Kurt managed a small smile as he settled back against the back of the couch. "If you want to wait until Sophie gets better to start work, you can, I'll understand."

Blaine shook his head. "No, I'm sure we'll be fine. So, you're going to tell me about Sophie's schedule."

"Yes, right. I keep Sophie on a strict schedule for the most part because of my busy schedule and I would like to keep her on it, if that's all right."

"Whatever you think is best will be fine. I imagine it would make an easier transition for her, as well."

Kurt nodded, "That's true. All right, well, in the mornings..." Kurt began explaining their daily routine, which foods Sophie preferred and which ones she refused to eat, what drinks to give with what meals and just general Sophie tidbits. "Now, Jessica is the housekeeper, she comes over on Tuesdays and Fridays to clean, but I make Sophie help clean up her own messes, picking up toys and stuff. At least most of it needs to be picked up before she goes down for a nap, but all of it needs to be clean before bedtime. Angie is our cook, she comes over every evening to cook us dinner, but if you want, I can have her come over during the day to make you guys lunch."

Blaine shook his head. "No, I think we'll be okay. I know my way around a kitchen," he added with a chuckle.

Kurt grinned back. "Well, good. Now, I just a couple of questions. Is your CPR certification up to date? I noticed that you put it down on your resume, but I want to make sure it's current."

"Yes, I renew it every two years," Blaine confirmed.

"Good, good... Oh, your schedule. Now, I leave for the office at five thirty in the morning, so I'll need you to be here at least five minutes before I leave. Most days, I'm off by six, but the week before we go to print, the office gets crazy with deadlines and I often don't get home until nine or later. Is that okay? I'll pay you overtime those weeks. Your only added duties would be a bath before you put her down for bed at nine."

Blaine's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Go to print?"

Kurt's jaw dropped. "Oh god, I forgot to tell you what I do! I run a magazine; I don't know if you've heard of it, What's Next?"

Blaine gaped at him for a moment. "You run What's Next? I love that magazine! People are calling it the next Vogue."

Kurt let out a dry chuckle. "As nice as that is, I'd rather be known as the first What's Next."

Blaine felt his ears heating up. There was just something about Kurt that made him nervous. He brushed it off as new-job jitters as Kurt leaned his head back for a moment and sighed heavily. Blaine couldn't help the way his eyes raked over the long column of his throat and he swallowed thickly. "Well, I can't think of anything else. Do you have any questions?"

Blaine opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a wail on the baby monitor on the table next to Kurt. With a frown, the other man stood up. "I'm sorry, just give me a second," Kurt said. He paused at the doorway for a moment before turning around. "Actually, would you like to take the tour now that Sophie is awake?"

Blaine nodded, standing and following Kurt around the corner, the sounds of Sophie's soft cries growing louder as they approached her closed door. Kurt pushed it open gently.

"Hey, baby girl," Kurt cooed, scooping her up from where she sat on her bed. Her head automatically fell on his shoulder, one tiny fist clutching his shirt. Kurt kissed her head, his nose nuzzling the curls for a moment.

Blaine watched them, a soft smile on his face. It was very clear that Kurt loved his daughter more than anything. Trying not to feel like a creeper, his eyes settled on taking in the room.

It was fairly large, the walls a soft purple, with white dresser in one corner, the surface covered with designs (he would have to take a closer look at that sometime), a white chest under the window, the name Sophie clearly painted on top, the heavy purple and white curtains parted slightly, allowing some sunlight to stream in. There were toys scattered about, much like in the living room, and a few decals of Disney princesses and various cartoon characters spaced evenly along the walls. All except the space above Sophie's bed, where a photo hung. From where he was standing (still in the doorway, feeling like he was intruding on a personal moment), he couldn't make out many of the details, but he could see it was a man and a woman, his arms wrapped around her protruding belly. He was pretty sure the man was Kurt, but all he could see of the woman was blonde hair and a soft smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kurt's voice dragged him back to reality and he looked back at the pair. "I get lost in our own little world sometimes. Sophie, do yo-" He cut himself off because Sophie had raised her head off of his shoulder, her bright eyes trained on Blaine. Kurt let out a small laugh. "I guess you do remember him, huh sweetie?"

Kurt crossed the room and as soon as they were close enough, Sophie reached out, her cubby hand running along Blaine's jaw for a moment before she moved back, her head on her father's shoulder and her eyes on Blaine.

"Do you want something to drink?" Kurt asked her. She nodded before Kurt looked at Blaine in horror. "Oh my god, I can't believe I didn't' think about offering you something to drink, I'm so sorry, that's was horribly rude of me."

Blaine shook his head. "It's fine, I wasn't thirsty. But, um, do you mind if I use your restroom?"

Kurt nodded and Blaine moved out of the doorway so that Kurt could walk back into the hallway. "My room," he said, pointing to the closed door next to Sophie's, "and there's the bathroom." He pointed at the closed door across the way from his. "I keep the door closed because when Sophie started crawling, she got into the habit of going in there and unrolling all of the toilet paper."

"That will be great blackmail when she gets older," Blaine chuckled. Kurt laughed, motioning him to go to the bathroom as he walked back to the living room, slowly rubbing Sophie's back as she switched her position, her eyes following him as her father took her away.

Upon entering, Blaine could immediately tell that this is Sophie's bathroom and only Sophie's. There was an adorable monkey toothbrush holder with a blue and yellow toothbrush, a smiling monkey on the hand towel he dried his hands on after he washed them, cute little monkey dancing all over the green shower curtain stretched across the bathtub.

A tube of baby toothpaste is next to the soap dispenser and the rug on the floor and around the toilet are a dark green; very simple, but very much a child's bathroom. He closed the door behind him carefully, making sure the latch clicked before walking down the hall and turning left into the living room.

Sophie had moved from Kurt's arms, sitting neatly on the floor in front of him as she played with some toys and occasionally babbled something up at him. Kurt grinned, humming and agreeing with her whenever she would pause and look up at him.

They both looked up as he entered the room, Kurt with a small smile still on his lips and Sophie... Sophie's whole face lit up, a beaming smile across her lips as she stood, using the floor to help her, and grabbed a toy. She toddled over to Blaine, a fuzzy yellow something in her hand as she raised her arms.

"Up," she demanded. Grinning, Blaine obeyed, swooping down to pick her up and taking her over to the armchair he had previously occupied.

"Would you like something to drink?" Kurt asked, standing. His eyes flickered between Blaine and Sophie, something akin to wonder in their depths.

"Some water would be nice, please," Blaine said, grinning up at him. An ache formed in Kurt's chest as he nodded, grabbing a glass from an end table and scooping up Sophie's cup from the floor as he passed in on his way to the kitchen.

Blaine's attention was immediately drawn back to Sophie when she shoved the toy in his face. He went cross eyed for a second before pulling his head back. "Oh, look at that awesome bird!" he exclaimed, taking the toy from her. "Let's see, it looks like a warbler." Sophie just stared at him, watching as he began playing with it. "Did you know, Miss Sophie, that warblers won't sing if they're by themselves?"

He nodded solemnly at her. "It's true. And did you know that there are 119 species of warblers in North America? I could list them all for you, if you like?" When Sophie takes the bird from him, her big green eyes still watching him, Blaine decided to continue. "Well, the warbler name is applied to..."

Kurt stood in the kitchen, listening as Blaine and Sophie talked to each other quietly. So far, Blaine was everything he had hoped to find in a caregiver. Sophie obviously adored him and was already very attached and if it weren't for the fact that Sophie was naturally shy of people she didn't know, he would be worried. His daughter was always a great judge of character and she didn't take to new people lightly. He pulled a glass down for Blaine and unscrewed the lid of Sophie's sippy cup, setting it next to his and Blaine's glasses and grabbing a pitcher of water out of the fridge. He mindlessly filled each cup as he thought about Blaine.

It really wasn't fair that Blaine was so good looking and well put together on top of being ridiculously good with Sophie. He had contacted a couple of his references and had gotten back nothing but glowing reviews. People fawned over him, talking about his kind heart and his level head. Kurt got the feeling that most people liked Blaine.

Of course, there were a lot of serial killers that people said the same thing about when they got caught.

Kurt shook his head, ridding himself of those kinds of thoughts as he replaced the water pitcher. It wouldn't help his nerves and, really, the likelihood that Blaine was a serial killer was pretty slim. A model, perhaps, but a serial killer, no, probably not.

Screwing the lid onto the top of Sophie's sippy cup and tucking it under his arm, Kurt grabbed the two glasses and walked into the living room.

"...yellow-breasted chat is the largest of the warblers and is actually an excellent sing- Oh, hello," Blaine said, cutting off his apparently long winded speech and accepting the glass from Kurt. He could feel his cheeks growing warm as Kurt dangled the sippy in front of Sophie until she took it, wrapping her arm around it and holding it to her chest. Kurt settled back on the couch, grabbing a coaster and setting it near Blaine on the end table.

"Please, continue," Kurt said, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

Blaine swallowed his mouthful of water and set his glass aside before clearing his throat. "I, uh, was just reciting facts about warblers, since Sophie was nice enough to show me her toy."

Kurt glanced at the fuzzy yellow bird still clutched in Sophie's fist. Something in his eyes darkened. "Oh, you mean Pavarotti." The happiness had left his voice, replaced with a barely concealed heartbreaking sadness. "Yes, that's her favourite toy. If she ever gets upset or if you can't get her to sleep, just give her that toy and she should be fine. She's usually mild mannered, though, so you shouldn't have any problems."

Blaine nodded, not daring to ask.

"Oh, I suppose I should finish the grand tour," Kurt said, trying to force some cheer into his voice. He stood, scooping Sophie from Blaine's arms so that he could follow his lead. "Obviously, this is the living room," he pointed outside the large windows that spread across one side of the room, "that's the patio, though I don't allow Sophie out there alone for obvious reasons. This," his arm swept out in a wide gesture, "is the dining room," he pointed to the bar on the opposite side of where the patio sat, "and that is the kitchen."

Leading Blaine around the bar, Kurt began opening cabinets, showing Blaine where everything was and once again going over Sophie's feeding schedule as well as what she drank, how much, and at what time. "You can bring your own lunch or use whatever's here and feel free to put any drinks you like in the fridge." His nose wrinkled. "Just, er, put your name on the drinks or you might lose them to my brother."

Kurt led him back to the living room, once again setting Sophie down on the floor before sitting on the couch. "So, TV time. I normally have something educational on for her during the day and just let it play in the background because she doesn't really watch much television. Try to keep it to things like the History Channels or sometimes I like to watch the medical shows. Anything that's educational, because I'm sure she's soaking it in subconsciously. Except Sesame Street." Kurt let out a chuckle. "She loves Abby, so she'll probably sit and watch that, but the rest of the day is fair game."

"Now, there may be some other people stopping by, my brother Finn or his wife Jen, but they usually call to let me know if they are, so I'll let you know. I'm going to post a list of emergency numbers and addresses on the fridge for you tomorrow, as well. I had meant to do it earlier, but..." Kurt sighed, shrugging hopelessly.

"I understand," Blaine said kindly. "Is, er, I mean, will her mother be stopping by?"

Kurt's posture immediately stiffened, his back ramrod straight and his eyes hardening. "No, she won't."

Blaine knew that he was treading shaky ground and retreated. "All right, i there anything else I should know?"

Kurt shook his head, his jaw tight. "No, I think that's everything."

Blaine nodded and stood, offering his hand to Kurt. "Thank you again for this opportunity. I hope I won't disappoint."

Kurt stood as well, shaking his hand. "I'm sure you'll do fine," he replied, a stiff smile stuck on his face. "I'll walk you out."

Blaine crouched down for a moment. "Goodbye, Miss Sophie. We'll have fun tomorrow, yeah?" Sophie stared at him for a moment before nodding and turning her attention back to her toys. Straightening, Blaine followed Kurt to the door and they shook hands once more before Blaine left, the door closing loudly behind him.