The summer days started to meld together into a blur of activity for Ryan. He had his theater lessons, his music lessons, friends to hang out with. And of course, family who wanted to spend time with him as well. James was finalizing his move into the Corcoran house, moving the last of his belongings into the house before the lease on his apartment expired.

"You don't really have a lot of stuff," Ryan observed as he helped his dad carry boxes of clothes into the bedroom James and Shelby were sharing.

"I guess not," James said. He smiled ruefully. "It doesn't seem like much for almost forty years of living, huh?"

"Is it because you moved around a lot?" Ryan asked. "I mean, I suppose the transient lifestyle of military members wouldn't lend itself to the accumulation of too many possessions, since you'd have to drag them around on assignments..."

"Yeah."

Ryan set down a box labelled UNIFORMS. "Can I see these?"

At James' nod he opened the box, pulling out a camouflage jacket. He traced a finger over then name tape on the front, inspecting the American flag on the sleeve. It was strange to think that this uniform had been with his father all over the world, probably even in battle zones in the Middle East. He knew his dad had been in the Army of course, but honestly, it hadn't really kicked in before. He'd never even seen James wearing his uniform in person. Holding this now though made it sink in.

"What do you think?" James asked, pulling him out of his musings.

Ryan glanced up. "It's... impressive." He ran his fingers across the badges decorating the coat. "What's this?" he asked, gesturing at the square, striped patch on the left sleeve.

"3rd Infantry Division." James took the jacket, gesturing to a patch attached below the American flag. "I was in the 7th Infantry Regiment." He reached inside, pulling out a more formal coat. Ryan saw the same striped patch on the sleeve, this one in blue and white. There were also a number of badges attached to the chest. Ryan noted the golden bars on the sleeves.

"What about those?"

"The diagonal ones are for services stripes," James explained. "One for every three years. Six for me, I didn't get up to 21 years. The horizontal ones are for overseas service, one for every six months."

Ryan nodded absently, counting nine horizontal stripes. "That's a long time."

"Yeah." James nodded pensively. "Looking back though, it sort of flew by." He touched a badge that rested above the US Army tape. Ryan gave him a questioning glance. "Combat Medical Badge," he said, pausing thoughtfully. "Do you know why I became a medic?"

"No."

"I wasn't, originally. I started out 11B. Infantry. While I was in Japan I volunteered at the health center, and I got a taste for it. Also, when we were teenagers, your mom had an asthma attack in front of me. I didn't know what to do, we had to call an ambulance. I thought maybe it would be cool to do that." James smiled faintly. "It's funny now, but I nearly had a heart attack back then."

"Wow." Ryan smiled, enjoying the insight into his dad's past. And his mom's too, partially. "So what, did you take more training to become a medic?"

"Not immediately," James allowed. "It took another tour in Iraq to make me decide." He let out a small sigh. "We were transporting a group of refugees across the desert, and we were ambushed. This little kid got out of our group somehow, ran straight into the middle of things. One of the guys on the squad managed to grab him, but the kid got shot. Our medic was down, so they called me. I couldn't save him."

"I'm sorry."

James hummed. "That was in 1996. You would have been a little over a year old, I guess."

"Yeah." Ryan was quiet as he absorbed the story. It was weird to think about. Ryan had never really considered just what his parents might have been doing when he was one. "That's really sad."

"The next time I was back stateside, I went back for the combat medic training."

Ryan nodded, his respect for his father increasing. It took a special kind of person to put his life on the line for his country, and to focus on saving as many lives as he could. He didn't think he'd be able to do that. He watched quietly as James refolded the clothes and laid them in a drawer just as Shelby came in with another box. "Oh good, you found the empty drawers," she mentioned.

"Yes, I went through all the other drawers to find it," James said, face straight. "Including your underwear drawer."

"James!"

"Dad, eww!" Ryan grumbled as he opened the box Shelby brought in. He so did not want to hear that. He rooted through the contents of the box before coming up with a small stack of pictures. Most of them were of his dad and various other soldiers, but the ones at the bottom showed his dad in his teenage years.

James glanced at the photos. "Oh, there they are. I thought they had disappeared or something."

"That's because you're a disorganized slob," Shelby threw out.

"Hey!"

Ryan paid little attention as he perused the photographs, smiling. He loved photos, it was true that pictures spoke a thousand words. They were like glimpses into the past, and in this case, they were glimpses into his father's past, something especially important to Ryan since their relationship was only a year old. "Mom's in a lot of these pictures," he commented as he inspected the older pictures.

Shelby looked over his shoulder, smiling at the pictures. "Oh, I remember those."

"Of course she was," James nodded. "She was my best friend before she was my girlfriend. And it was her parents' camera we were using, after all."

"Oh." Ryan gazed at the photograph with the image of younger versions of his parents. "Huh. You know, it's always strange to think that your parents were once teenagers themselves."

"I would imagine so."

"It's true," Shelby chimed in. "There aren't many photos of your grandparents around, but the ones that I've seen are bizarre."

"Much like this photo of teenaged you with the Farrah Fawcett hair," Ryan smirked. Shelby snatched the offending photo away from him with a groan.

"Dear God, what was I thinking?"

Ryan reached the last photo before looking at his dad. "You don't have any pictures from when you were younger."

James took the stack of pictures back, not meeting his eyes. "No, I don't. Moving between families tends to do that."

"Sorry," Ryan said guiltily.

"It's fine." James gave him a small smile. "I've dealt with that part of my life, and now I'm focusing on this new one. With you and your mom."

Ryan nodded comprehendingly. "We're your family now."

James nodded, wrapping an arm each around him and Shelby briefly. "Right."

..

"Here's to the anniversary of your telling me we had a fifteen-year-old child together," James smiled mischievously, clinking his glass against Shelby's. It was after dinner, the dishes were clean, and Ryan had headed over to Quinn's house. Shelby and James had decided to break out a bottle of wine in honor of the occasion - exactly one year ago had been the day James had arrived in Lima for Shelby to say, congratulations, it's a boy! "No malice meant, of course," he added before taking a sip of the Chardonnay.

"Good to know," Shelby quipped, taking her own sip. "Can't believe it's been a year."

"Me either."

She watched him over the top of her glass, smiling faintly. "You know, I was so scared you were going to run out on us last year," she admitted. "If someone had told me we'd be sitting here a year later, with you moving in, I don't know if I would have laughed like crazy or cried."

James looked down briefly. "I did consider it," he said guiltily. "I mean, it was a shock. But I couldn't have left him. Or you."

"Do you miss it?" Shelby asked curiously. "Your old life."

"I miss it in the sense that it was my life for twenty years," James said slowly. "I miss my friends in my unit, and I worry about them sometimes."

"Do you wish you had stayed?"

"Why all the questions?"

Shelby shrugged. "I don't know. It's been a year, and I suppose I want to make sure you weren't... feeling trapped. I know you always wanted to move around. We broke up way back then because we didn't want to tie each other down."

James smiled thoughtfully. "No, I like my life now. Truthfully, I guess I was ready for a change. Not quite as big a change as finding out I had a teenaged kid, but yeah. I don't regret moving back here." He leaned over to give her a kiss. "I was planning to look you up anyways." He met her eyes. "How about you? Do you ever wish you could have gone back to before?"

She let out a sharp laugh. "God no. I was a neurotic, hard-to-please taskmaster of a coach, a wannabe Broadway performer, and most of all a miserable mother who was missing her kid." She laughed again, sarcastically. "A glamorous life, but not one I should ever like to revisit."

"I like our life now," James mused. "You know I've been looking for a family my whole life, and I kind of got that in the Army." He looked at her lovingly. "This is different though. What we have, you and me and Ryan. Even if it's not really official. He's right, you're my family now."

Shelby smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

Summer passed by relatively quickly for Quinn, most of her time spent with Ryan, some with Santana and Brittany, some with her mom. She and Ryan took advantage of Santana's pool quite often. She was also thankful for the short haircut Santana had made her get, since it was a lot lighter and cooler than her previous mane of golden locks, a huge benefit in the summer.

She headed up the porch of Ryan's house one morning, ringing the doorbell and waiting for her boyfriend to answer. She knew Shelby wasn't home, since her car wasn't in the driveway. The door soon opened, and Quinn was speechless for a moment. "Is that a baby?"

"Uh, yeah," Ryan said sheepishly, as he stood in the doorway, a baby in his arms. "It's a baby."

"Okay... where did you get the baby?"

"Oh, it's not mine," he hastily assured her, not that she'd thought it was, anyways. "I didn't know you were coming over." His face took on an anxious look. "I can't go out today, I'm stuck with babysitting duty," he said nodding at the baby in his arms. "Uncle Josh showed up this morning, Aunt Paige has a work thing and then he and my mom went out to do something for a few minutes. And my dad's at work. So I have to stay home with Alex."

"Oh." Quinn nodded absently, her eyes fixed Ryan's cousin as Ryan rambled on. "That's okay. It's not like anything was happening at home, anyways. How old is she?"

"Three months, almost four," Ryan answered, smiling at Quinn gently. "You don't have to stay if it's too hard for you."

Quinn smiled at him a bit sadly. "No, it's okay." It had been over a year now, and she wanted to be able to be around kids like a normal person. Older kids like Sam's siblings were okay, but babies... babies were different. They reminded her of everything she'd already missed. She let out a breath, and nodded at the towel on Ryan's shoulder. "You look like a pro already," she said lightly.

Ryan made a face. "She already spit up on one of my shirts, can't have her doing that again." He headed into the living room, Quinn trailing after him, and put Alex down in a baby carrier. He gave her a stuffed animal before straightening up and looking at Quinn. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company today? I thought you were hanging out with Santana?"

"Her abuela came for a surprise visit," Quinn explained as she sat down on the sofa. "Mom's out, so there's nothing to do at home."

"Ah." Ryan nodded. "Well, you're always welcome here, as you know." He sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Do you want anything? Water or a snack?"

"Maybe later," she answered, glancing at the baby before focusing back on Ryan. "How are your acting classes going?"

Ryan smiled happily. "They're going great, thanks for asking," he answered. "I'm learning a lot. The teachers are amazing, if a bit temperamental. Mom actually knew a couple of them from New York, they worked together on an show once, and they really know what they're doing. And there are a few really talented students too."

"Oh?" She hadn't thought there were that many acting-inclined kids in Ohio.

"Yeah, there's this girl named Harmony, she's an incoming sophomore. She's on the Unitards, they're the glee club from one of the schools in Columbus, and she's amazing. She absolutely killed Buenos Aires the other day, and that was just in rehearsal," Ryan gushed.

"Hmm," Quinn chuckled. "Should I be jealous?"

"What? No," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "I appreciate her as a performer, but you're the only one for me." He leaned over to kiss her, making her smile.

"Good," she quipped, kissing him back. "I'm glad you're having a good time."

"Oh, I am," he assured her. "I'm already trying to think of how we can fully convince mom to start another glee club this year. Mr. Schue isn't particularly aggressive about finding new members, so we'll just have to find them first," he said determinedly. "We also have to find someone to fund us, since Figgins is hardly going to give us the cash we need to sustain another group."

"I like how you keep saying 'we' here," Quinn answered, amused.

"Yes, we," Ryan said firmly. "Because you're going to help me."

"Oh, I'm sure. You know, if you really want funds, you need to find someone with loaded parents," she told him. "Then you have to get them to join, and odds are they'll contribute. That's how Coach Sylvester does it."

Ryan nodded thoughtfully. "I wonder if it would be possible to get that information from the administrative office at McKinley..."

Quinn snorted in amusement. He'd be getting this club one way or another, God help anybody who got in his way. Suddenly Alex started fussing from the baby carrier, pulling both teens' attention to her. Ryan stood up, leaning over the carrier. "You okay over there?" he asked brightly. The baby simply fussed louder, waving her arms.

"She must want you to pick her up," Quinn suggested, her gaze once again set on Alex.

"I guess so."

She smiled as Ryan picked up his cousin, settling her against his shoulder as he hummed softly. "You're really good with her."

He flashed her a smile. "Thanks. It's strange, she really hasn't been around me that often, but she does seem to like me."

"She'd be crazy not to." Quinn watched them for a moment. "Do you ever think about having your own kids?"

"Hmm." Ryan rocked Alex for a moment. "I think I would like kids, someday. When I'm set in my career and I'm sure that I can give them the childhood they deserve. Do you think about having a family?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. She had mixed feelings about having kids - more kids. Her therapy sessions were great and all, she'd made her peace with everything that had happened in sophomore year, but there was still a part of her that was scared of having more.

"I think you'd make a good mom," Ryan offered. "You're actually a very nurturing person. I mean, you take care of me all the time. Like when I get into fights, you're always the first one there with a bag of ice. And you're always fixing my clothes and stuff. I think you'll be a really good mom someday."

Quinn gave him a small smile, warming at the compliment. She hadn't noticed it herself, and it felt good to know that he paid attention. "Thanks."

"Here," Ryan offered her the baby. "How about you hold her?"

Quinn looked down at baby Alex for a moment, before hesitantly taking her from Ryan. The small girl looked up at her and cooed softly. Quinn fought down the small ache in her chest as she cuddled the baby close, imagining - no. Don't go there. "Hi Alex." She stroked the baby's reddish hair lightly, smiling at the softness, trying to stay here in the moment. She glanced up at Ryan. "Santana wanted to know if we could come over later for a swim."

"Depends on when Mom and Uncle Josh come back, I guess," Ryan replied.

"Want to see Santana in a bathing suit again?" Quinn teased.

"Yes, that's exactly it," he deadpanned. "Seriously though, any opportunity to see you in a bikini." He smirked mischievously. "I wouldn't mind seeing it in a more private setting either..."

Quinn gave him a mock glare before turning her attention back to Alex. Ryan grinned at the baby from behind Quinn, poking the baby on the nose and letting out a beeping noise. Quinn giggled as Alex laughed, shaking in her arms. Ryan was going to be a really good dad someday.

Maybe having kids wouldn't be so bad.

Several days later Ryan found himself at Mike Chang's house. Mike had just gotten home from Asian camp with Tina, and had quickly invited Ryan over to hang out while Quinn and Tina did some kind of girl outing thing. Ryan had eagerly accepted, delighted at the invitation.

Right now, the two boys were engaged in a co-op game of Diablo III on Mike's Xbox. Mike had been teaching Ryan for a while now, and Ryan was finally getting the hang of it.

"So how was Asian camp?" Ryan asked curiously, as he navigated his character through the labyrinth of passages onscreen.

"Oh, same old," Mike answered. "I've been going since I was like eight, so it kind of gets old. Teaching the kids to dance is sort of fun." He smiled. "And I got to spend it with Tina, so it was good. How about you, how's that acting workshop going?"

"Pretty good," Ryan grinned happily. "I'm learning quite a bit."

"What else have you been up to?"

"Oh, working at the garage, hanging out with Quinn. The usual things, I suppose." Ryan managed to level up his character. "Actually, I've hung out with Santana and Brittany too. And Blaine."

"Your friend from Dalton?"

"Yeah," Ryan nodded. "He's pretty cool to be around too. I was just at his house a few days ago, we see each other sometimes at the garage since he's dating Kurt. Hey, you know what?" he said, a thought occurring to him. "I think he's got this game too. Maybe I should call him and check out if he wants to play online or something."

Mike grinned. "That would be cool. The more the merrier."

Ryan quickly pulled out his phone, sending off a quick text message to Blaine. He replied a moment later, saying that he'd be on as soon as he got his console set up. Sure enough, they were soon playing the game with a user labelled BWarbler95.

"He's good," Mike said a few minutes later. "He's like ten levels above me already." He winced as his character died, respawning after a moment. "We should get together, it's more fun that way. Think he'd be open to coming over here sometime?"

"I'll ask."

"Did you hear Sam's moving to Kentucky?"

"Really?" Ryan glanced at Mike in surprise. "When?"

"Before school starts. His dad got a job in his old town."

"Oh." Ryan turned his attention back to the game. Honestly he didn't really mind much either way. If he were still in glee he'd probably be going crazy over the fact that they now had yet another member to replace, but since he wasn't, he didn't particularly care. Good for him that his dad had managed to find a job. He was still a little sore at Sam for trying to kiss Quinn though. "How do you think you're going to fill up the New Directions? If I'm not mistaken, there are now three members to