Belles cries filled the silent apartment. They were filled with terror and didnt stop.

Blaine rolled over to look at Kurt. It was hard to make out his face in the dark but he could tell Kurt was awake. "What do we do?" he whispered.

"I wish I knew," Kurt sighed. "I dont like this but she needs to be able to sleep in her own bed."

"What time is it?" Blaine asked.

Kurt reached for his phone. Squinting at the light, he mumbled, "12:30."

"Okay, well, she lasted that long. Cant we comfort her and try again tomorrow?" Blanks said, his heart breaking with every sob.

"You have sixth a gentle heart, Blaine Devon Anderson," he sighed, throwing the blankets off of him. He climbed out of bed and shuffled toward the doorway.

"Apparently Im not the only one," Blaine grinned.

A moment later, Kurt came back in with Belles legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck. He set her on the middle of the bed and climbed back in.

Belle curled up next to Blaine, her sobs subsiding.

Running his finger along her wet cheek, Blaine said, "Its okay, honey. Were here for you."

Belles breath slowly returned to normal. Her body relaxed, she fell asleep again. Blaine stared at Kurt through the darkness. He couldnt make out his husbands expression but he knew Kurt had to be thinking the same thing: This was going to be a long, difficult process.

The next two nights passed in a similar fashion. Belle begged them to let her sleep with them. Kurt and Blane both denied her the right, but by two in the morning, she was in bed with them anyway.

On the third morning, Blaine woke up to find Belle nestled against Kurt, who had his arm wrapped around her. Her hair draped against his soft features. Blaine smiled, before climbing out of bed and shuffling into the bathroom.

He made his way into the kitchen from there and made a cup of coffee. Sitting down on the couch, he curled up under a blanket and stared at the wall behind the television.

What seemed like hours passed before Kurt appeared next to the couch. "Why are you out here?"

"Hmm?" Blaine glanced up.

"Whats wrong?" Kurt sat down on the couch next to him.

Blinking, Blaine turned to face him and whispered, "Ive been thinking about something."

"And whats that?" Kurt asked.

"Tell me that Jill has nothing to do with Tims actions," he said quietly. "I mean, she helped me find Belle, right?"

"Yes," Kurt moved closer. "Why do you think she is guilty?"

"Kurt, I think she panicked," Blaine said. "You dont know what it was like there. It was intense. If it had come down between Belle and anyone else, I probably would have stopped them with a gun too."

"You dont mean that," Kurt replied.

"Shes my everything, Kurt," he whispered, tears in his eyes.

"Blaine, honey, I know. I love her too," Kurt took his hand.

"I cant forgive myself for what happened," Blaines voice cracked. "I cant forgive myself for letting any of this happen. I should have been more responsible. I should have done everything humanly possible to find her. I should have handled the rescue mission better. I cant let it go."

"Rachel told me we need to stop acting like we dont have her anymore," Kurt said.

"I cant," Blaine said. "I left her on the subway. I panicked when a stranger came near her... " Meeting Kurts warm blue eyes, he said, "Im just so afraid of losing her again."

"I know how you feel," Kurt pulled him into a tight embrace, tears now falling down his cheeks too. "I know. Im scared too. I cant stand to see anything happen to her."

"I just feel so guilty," Blaine buried his face in Kurts shoulder. He let his tears fall. His body trembling. He hadnt let his guard down this much since Belle came home. He had tried so hard to be strong for her, for Kurt, but he couldnt anymore.

Rubbing his back, Kurt soothingly said, "Shhh. Its okay. Its okay to feel like this."

He didnt know how long they held each other. He didnt care. He cried until he couldnt anymore.

When they finally broke apart, Kurt cupped his hand over Blaines cheek and said, "You dont have to pretend youre okay. You dont have to be better just because shes here. We all experienced something traumatic. It takes time to heal.

"I love you," Blaine whispered.

"I love you too," Kurt gently kissed him. He pulled back and met his eyes, "I really love you."

"Kurt, I have to do whats right for my family," Blaine didnt break his eye contact. "If were ever going to get beyond this, I have to forgive Jill. Kurt, I want to drop charges against her."

Sitting back, he let out a long sigh. "Blaine, thats a serious step to take."

"She didnt mean to hurt me," Blaine said.

"But she did," Kurt said fiercely. "She did hurt you. She could have hurt Sam or Belle too."

"But she didnt. I said I would have done the same to protect my daughter. Jill loves him, Kurt. She was trying to protect her family," Blaine needed his husband to understand. "If I cant forgive her, I cant move forward."

"Youd have to forgive Tim to move forward too. Are you going to drop charges against him too?" Kurts voice grew bitter.

"Of course not," Blaine replied.

Pounding his fist on his thigh, Kurt said, "and what happens when you do drop charges? She wont testify against Tim in court. If you no longer claim her guilty, your story changes."

"It was an accident," Blaine said. "Look, I told Jill I couldnt forgive her but its left me feeling worse because I know that I never would have found Belle without her."

Closing his eyes, Kurt took a deep breath. He took Blaine s hand and squeezed it, " sweetie, I know you mean well. I do. Im just worried about what that will do to your case."

"Jill had nothing to do with Belles kidnapping," Blaine said. "She helped me find Belle. The only wrong thing she did was hurt me. I cant accuse her of being an accomplice because I know she wanted to help."

"Youre absolutely sure about this? Youre not just saying it in a moment of weakness?" Kurt asked.

"Its the right thing to do," Blaine said quietly.

Kurt gave a weak smile, "I fell in love with you for your kind heart. If this is what your heart is telling you, Ill stand by your decision.

"Make sure you finish your work on your essays sooner than later. Its due Friday and I hope the majority of your work is already done," Sam announced to his class.

The bell rang.

A group of twenty students filed by Blaine, who stood in the doorway. When the last student left, Sam said, "You always were good about showing up here to corner me when I avoid you." He stuffed a stack of papers in the drawer of his desk.

"We need to talk," Blaine entered the classroom. He sat down at a desk in the front row.

"I said my piece," Sam said, moving to the back of the classroom and picking up a scrap of paper off the floor and tossing it in the trash.

"Sam, Im trying," Blaine stood up. "I dont want to hurt over this anymore."

"No one does," Sam snarled. "But do you have any idea how much I hurt from it?" He went back to his desk and slammed down a book on it. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to be in this classroom every day? To come here and see kids who have no real problems that they make out to be the end of the world. To show up knowing that Belles classroom has an empty seat. To come home on our weekends to her empty room. To make a cake with Rachel on her birthday and throw the entire thing away because neither of us could stomach eating it. To watch Rachels pregnancy progress knowing she knew nothing about it."

"Sam," Blaine whispered.

"Dont tell me you understand! Dont tell me you know!" Sam shouted. "You and Kurt forgot that Rachel and I were hurting too! Where was my best friend when my daughter disappeared? My best friend, who knew exactly how I felt, couldnt be there!"

"Where were you, Sam?" Blaine shouted. "Couldnt I say the same about you? When did you stop by to make sure we were okay?"

Sam had no response to this.

Blaine approached the desk. Running his hand through his hair, he took a deep breath, "Listen, Im sorry," he said. "We were all dealing with a lot and time got away from us. I wish I had known you were hurting so much. I wish I had known you made a cake. I didnt even remember her birthday."

"I couldnt forget," Sam said quietly.

"You are family, Sam," Blaine said. "I didnt realize how much you had become a part of our family until I saw how hurt you were over this."

"I didnt know either until she disappeared," Sam said.

Bowing his head, Blaine gripped the side of the desk and said, "Sam, you are my best friend and I never meant to hurt you. You are family. Im sorry it took a tragedy to fully appreciate that. Youve been there for Rachel and for Belle. Im so grateful she has you."

Sam came around the desk and gave Blaine a hug. "Im sorry too. I guess I just needed to get those feelings off my chest. I was upset but I know this has been hard for you." He put a hand on Blaines shoulder, "I just want things to get back to normal, you know?"

"Believe me, I know," Blaine shook his head. "Thats why Im going to see about dropping Jills charges. I need to move on through forgiveness."

"Good for you. It will do you some good," Sam smiled. "I think I know what else would make things less tense around here."

"Whats that?" Blaine asked.

"Rachel and I were talking about waiting for the wedding for things to calm down but maybe we need some happiness among all this insanity," Sam said.

"You want to get married now?" Blaine raised his eyebrows.

"Dude, why not? Hasnt all of this proven that things can change so quickly? Theres no time like the present." Sam scooped up his briefcase and said, "I need to get home to my future wife. Ill talk to you later, B." He patted Blaines shoulder and said, "Im really glad we worked things out."

Blaine stood there dumbfounded. "Yeah, me too," he said to the empty room.

With a tray in his hand, Blaine tapped lightly on Belles bedroom door. He cracked it open slightly and saw her facedown on her bed. "Belle?" he said quietly.

Rolling over, she sat up and sniffed. Her face was red and her eyes were bloodshot. "Hi," she hiccuped.

"Hey, whats wrong?" Blaine asked quietly. He set the tray on the night stand next to her bed and sat down. "I brought you some hot chocolate and graham crackers."

"Im not hungry," she said quietly.

"Are you in the mood to talk?" Blaine brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

She shrugged.

"You can always talk to me," he told her.

"I heard you two talking the other day," Belle winced. "You were really upset."

"Belle," Blaine gently placed his hand on top of hers.

"You said you felt guilty," she continued.

"I do feel guilty. Belle, none of this was your fault. You know that, right?" Blaine asked.

"It wasnt yours either," Belle replied. "Dad you didnt know what would happen any more than I did."

Blaine gave half a smile, "When did you get so smart?"

"I had a lot of time to think," she admitted. "I hated you for what happened. You werent there to save me and then you didnt come and you didnt come and I still hated you for it."

Blaine felt a pang in his chest. Hearing this didnt make him feel any better. "You did?"

"Yeah but I also missed you so much that I didnt care that I hated you," Belle said. "I knew you would never let me be gone so long. He kept... he kept telling me you werent coming. He said that if you really wanted me, you would have been there by now. I believed him."

"Belle, I didnt know where you were," Blaine whispered.

"I know that now," Belle said. "After you found me and all the talks weve had since, I know that. But dad Im a little girl and I was scared and alone, and of course I was going to believe him."

"Im so sorry, Belle," Blaine whispered.

"I dont hate you," Belle said, tears forming in her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," Blaine said.

She climbed on to his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I dont want you to feel guilty. I know you didnt mean for it to happen."

"Thanks, baby," Blaine kissed her forehead. "But what about the subway? I dont want you to lose your trust in me ever again."

"That was an accident too, right?" Belle asked.

"Of course it was," Blaine said.

"I dont want to be left alone," Belle said. "Im scared. I hate going to sleep alone and I dont like being away from you guys when we leave the house."

"You have to learn to be apart sometime. Thats why you sleep in here. What happens when you go back to school?"

"Im just not ready," she said quietly.

"Well, we have most of the summer to think about that," Blaine said. "Well work on things one day at a time. But I promise Ill get your trust back."

"I hope so," Belle said. "But I dont want you to feel guilty anymore, okay? Im not mad at you. Im just scared."

"I know how you feel," Blaine hugged her. "Thank you for talking to me about this, honey. Maybe therapy is doing you some good after all. I think we need to stay open with each other. Were all dealing with this so we might as well deal with it together."

There was a moment silence and then Belle said, "dad?"

"Yeah," Blaine met her eyes.

"I havent told you this since that day but thank you for rescuing me. I know Ive been sad but Im really happy to be home."

Blaine blinked back tears, "Me too, my love, me too."