This is a pretty short chapter, but it was written with care and one of the main reasons that the original 3 chapter story "The Golden Rule" became this novella.

Enjoy!

After a few hours of Pam convincing the doctors that Kurt and Santana were fiances, they were able to allow Kurt, Santana, and the child to spend one more night in the room on account of Santana still being unconscious and on the terms that this arrangement be kept quiet.

10 minutes before visiting time was over, Blaine pat the child's arm and kissed Kurt on the lips, bidding him goodnight.

Kurt found that the hospital became very quiet once the visiting hours were over and it was mainly him and a baby locked away in this small room, the child's mother asleep on the only bed.

He had hoped to leave the child alone for as long as possible before he had to hold him, but not 20 minutes after Blaine left, did a watery cry emit from the crib. Kurt walked over on shaky legs and picked up the child that was smaller than his forearm.

"Shh, sweetheart. It's okay...Kurt's here."

The baby quieted down almost immediately as his birth-father gently bounced him in his arms and walked him around the room.

Even in the dim light, Kurt could see the baby's wide eyes darting around, taking everything in. The nurse had said that she rarely saw babies with eyes so wide open so soon after birth and now Kurt was amazed as well.

After an hour of walking in a cramped circle, he tried to sit down, but the little boy started to wail again.

"You're just a busy-body aren't you?" Kurt whispered to the baby, rubbing his thumb over the little one's cheek.

The baby emitted a gurgling sound and then farted.

Kurt couldn't stop from barking out a quick laugh. "Did you just fart on me? Did you do a farty Mr. Farty-pants?" Kurt had always thought it was ridiculous to speak in baby-talk, but he found himself speaking to the child in a very high pitch and more exuberant way than how he was actually feeling.

The baby cried softly and scrunched up his little face, turning bright red. He farted a bit again then continued to cry.

"Do you have gas, sweetie?"

Thinking back to the few baby care tips he had learned when he was forced to babysit his neighbors child for an evening when he was 15, he cupped his hand behind the baby's neck and head to support it then laid him on his chest so the baby's head looked over his shoulder. He cupped his other hand as well and gently pat the baby's back.

Expecting a burp or more farts, Kurt was surprised when white spit-up appeared on his shoulder. The baby let out a contented sigh and his eyes fluttered shut.

Kurt was able to put his son back into the crib for a moment to take off the jacket he had thrown on yesterday morning. "Thanks for the embellishment, kid."

The baby started to howl again and he picked him up immediately after placing a cloth on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

Though Kurt never got to sleep due to the baby waking up every hour or so, the night seemed to go fast. Though he would never get over the fact that his son looked like a carbon copy of him except for the extremely dark dusting of hair on his wrinkled head, it made the time fly to just look at his son and try to memorize him since this could possibly be the last time he was ever with his son.

What boggled him most is that he had made another little human, and it only took a microscopic bit of him.

At one point during the night, when the boy wouldn't stop crying and Kurt had exhausted all options (burping, feeding, diaper change), he wanted to sing something to the baby, but there was only one song that was on repeat in his head since the moment his son was in his arms. He wanted to sing something different, but in his state of being awake for about 30 hours, he could barely grasp enough words of any other song to remember another tune other than the one that was still lodged in his brain.

Finally he relented and sang the one song he could remember at the time, changing a few words to make it ring even truer.

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you
Tomorrow I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away
I'll think of you every day
And I'll send all my loving to you

I'll pretend that I'm kissing
The lips I am missing
And hope that your dreams will come true
And then while I'm away
I'll think of you every day
And I'll send all my loving to you

All my loving I will send to you
All my loving, darling I'll be true

The baby's eyes were fixed on Kurt's.

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you
Tomorrow I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my loving to you

Kurt's throat closed up, but he forced himself to finish the last bit of the song. The baby would never remember it, but this would forever be one of the most important nights of Kurt's life. He realized then what it meant to be a parent. To give everything to your child, and that's what he was doing. He gave his child life, he was giving him a loving home, and this would be the first and last night he would ever be able to show his son how much he loved him and how he wanted to give him the best life he could.

All my loving I will send to you
All my loving, darling I'll be true
All my loving, all my loving ooh
All my loving I will send to you

The baby's eyes searched Kurt's face as if waiting for more. A tear rolled down Kurt's cheek and he felt his heart breaking. The sun was starting to show through the blinds and he knew he only had a few hours before he had to say goodbye forever. He mourned the hours already lost where he was trying to keep an indifference towards the child, but he couldn't help the agony now that he knew he would have to say goodbye when there was so much he wished he could tell the child now. He wanted to tell him who his grandfather is and the beautiful woman his grandmother was. But most importantly he wanted to tell the child that even though he was giving him to another family, is that he loved him so much and that they were doing this so that he could have the best life possible.

He bent over and placed one kiss on the baby's forehead.

The morning finally came and Santana woke with a start. Kurt rushed over to quiet her so she wouldn't wake the baby that had been sleeping for a solid 3 hours.

"You've been asleep for 2 days. There were some complications while you gave labor, but you're both fine now. You and our boy."

"It's a boy?"

"Yes. 8 pounds 1 ounce And I took care of him last night otherwise he would have been in foster care. He is an angel. He's asleep now. Do you want to meet him?"

Santana stiffened and her eyes flashed to the crib on the other side of the room.

Her fingers shook by her side. "I want to...but I don't think I can. I really can't. If I do...I don't know how to let him go."

Kurt nodded. "I understand...I took care of him last night."

Santana gaped. "Kurt! Every book says that's so dangerous!" She looked him up and down. "You don't want to-to keep him now do you?"

Kurt swallowed and told himself he wasn't allowed to become emotional even if he hadn't slept in almost 2 days. "Yes. In all honesty, I want to. I want to find a way to make it work. I feel deep down that there's a way to make it work. But deeper down...I know I won't be able to and he'll have a much better life with the adoptive parents. I'm not going to take away this wonderful life ahead of him. I can't do that to him or to his parents."

"You're right. Kurt, can you please hand me the adoption papers?"

Kurt got them from the side table and handed her a pen. Her entire being had relaxed and she slowly signed her name on the few places on the clipboard and then handed it back to Kurt. He stared at the piece of paper that somehow relinquished all attachments to him, Santana, and the child.

They locked eyes and kissed. It was not romantic, it was just a kiss that meant that they both were on the same page. That this was the end of this chapter in their lives together. Now it was time to start a new leaf.

2 more chapters before we say goodbye folks!