Chapter 24: Redemption

When Kurt woke up the next morning in Blaine's bed, Blaine was already sitting up, looking a little worse for wear but still smiling at him. "Good morning," Blaine whispered and kissed him on the cheek. Kurt smiled back at him.

"Why don't I get us a cup of coffee and then we can talk," Kurt offered. Blaine looked down at his hands but nodded as Kurt got out of the bed.

He quickly went downstairs without being seen by any of his family members and five minutes later was caring two cups of coffee upstairs. He was a little scared about the talk as well, but it needed to be done. Like Blaine had said last night; no more running away.

Blaine accepted his cup with a grateful smile on his face and they both drank their coffee in silence. Kurt finished his first and he put the empty cup on Blaine's bedside table before taking a deep breath.

"I know I've already said it last night, but I don't want us to break up. I betrayed your trust and I'm so sorry for that because I should have known that what I was doing was wrong, and I promise I will do my best to re-earn your trust," Kurt told Blaine with as much vulnerably in his voice as possible. He needed Blaine to believe him.

Blaine took his hands into his own and lifted his chin so he could look Kurt into the eyes. "And I'm sorry I made you believe we broke up. I shouldn't have avoided you like that, but I was a coward." His boyfriend took a deep breath of is own and Kurt steeled himself for what Blaine would say next.

"But you are right. You betrayed my trust and it will take some time for me to be able to completely trust you again. I don't want to question whether you are telling me the truth or whether you are keeping things from be because you think you need to protect me from them, but that's how it is right now."

Kurt nodded. He had expected that, but it still hurt to hear Blaine say it. "But I'm nowhere near ready to give up on us either," Blaine assured him when he saw Kurt's downtrodden expression. "And if it's alright with you, I'm going to kiss you now. But I understand if you don't want me too, especially after last night."

Kurt had no plans to give Karofsky power over him ever again, and so he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against Blaine's, morning breath forgotten yet again. They kissed chastely for a few minutes before Blaine pulled back.

"Why don't you go and take a shower while I talk to Burt. I think it's time my mom met your parents and I was thinking about inviting her to Regionals." Kurt was pleased to hear Blaine say that. There was a chance that Blaine could get his mom back, and Kurt would do everything in his power to help Blaine make it happen.

He pressed a quick kiss to Blaine's temple and walked over to his bedroom to take a much-needed shower. The sooner he got that disgusting bar stench off of him, the better.

It wasn't just the smell of the bar that needed to be washed off though. He had to get rid of his guilt, so he and Blaine could move past their fight. They might have kissed and made up so to speak, but they weren't even close to being okay.

That was okay though. They had both grown as people and maybe the honeymoon period was definitely over. But he had faith that they would make it as a couple in the long run.

Burt was sitting at the kitchen table when Blaine came downstairs. Kurt's dad looked up briefly and pointed to the chair opposite of him and Blaine sat down with a sigh. No more staling. The sooner they got it over with, the better.

"I'm sorry about last night, Burt. I shouldn't have gotten Kurt involved." If he hadn't called Kurt, his boyfriend wouldn't have been nearly assaulted by his former tormentor, but unfortunately, he couldn't change that now.

"Damn right. If you are in trouble you call me. No matter what it is, you understand," Burt told him with a serious look on his face.

Blaine sank further into his chair. Burt had a right to be mad, but he wasn't his father. He knew he didn't have to be scared of Burt. Kurt's dad must have realized he was scaring him though, because his expression immediately softened.

"Look Blaine, I get it. When I was your age my friends and I did the exact same thing. But if you're going to do something like this, always make sure you're in a group." Blaine looked up at Burt in surprise. It almost sounded like Burt was more angry about the fact that he was in a bar on his own and not the bar part. Apparently he wasn't very good at guarding his expressions at the moment, because Burt chuckled when he looked at him.

"Oh, come on. I know this won't be the last time you're going to sneak into a bar. If not while you're still in high school, then most certainly when you are in college. No need to deny it. As a parent I might not like it, but I know how it is, okay? So next time, please call me or Carole, or your mother if you need help, and I try not get mad, okay?"

Blaine could only nod his head mechanically. He didn't even want to know how his own father would have reacted if he had found out his son went to a gay bar. Thinking about his father reminded him about something Kurt had said.

"Kurt said you met my father? How did that go?" He saw Burt swallow as he prepared himself for the answer.

"He was sitting next to me at a bar and we got talking, and when he told me his last name, I tried to find out more about him, because I thought he might be your father and he told me about you." Burt looked angry again, so he had to assume that whatever his father had said, had been bad.

"Look, I'm not going to repeat what he said. Let's just say it ended with him getting punched in the face." Blaine couldn't believe that someone had finally stood up to his father like he had wanted to for years.

"You punched my father?" He had to make sure he heard that one right. Burt chuckled dryly.

"Let's just say he said some not so nice things about your mother and he insulted you and Kurt, and I thought it was time to shut him up. Nearly got me kicked out of the hotel."

Blaine quickly wiped a tear from his eyes. No one had ever done something like this for him before. "Thank you. I'm so sorry I just ran away and didn't tell you or Carole where I was going."

Burt stood up and awkwardly patted his shoulder. "I'm not saying it was okay, but you are back now and I expect you and Kurt to talk things out. I would never kick either of you out, but you need to find a way to deal with your differences whether you are together or not."

Blaine gave Burt a grateful smile. He had places to go now if he needed his space but it was nice to know that he wouldn't be kicked out of the house the moment he and Kurt and problems.

Burt folded his newspaper and made his way to the living room when Blaine stopped him. "Hey Burt, do you think my mom could sit with you and Carole for Regionals? She would really like to meet you all officially."

Burt came back and pulled Blaine into a one-armed hug. "Sure kiddo. I think that would be good for all of us."

Blaine had never been more grateful that Burt didn't turn out like his own dad in the end.

Regionals was going great and for once Finn didn't mind singing back up with Sarah and Sugar. If they made it to Nationals they had more time to practice and Ms. Corcoran had promised to give them some lines if their singing and dancing improved till then.

Rachel and Blaine were the first on stage and Finn had to admit they sounded great together as the sang "Don't you want me." Santana, Mercedes, Brittany and Kurt were next with their Adele mash up. Before he had joined Glee Finn had no idea you could just put two songs together into one, and even though Finn wasn't really an Adele fan he liked what his brother and friends had done with the two songs "Someone like you" and "Rumor has it."

Their grand finale however was a Queen song, which was more to Finn's taste. Ms. Corcoran had split the lines between the remaining club members and Finn got in position next to Sarah and Sugar, barely containing his nerves. Maybe it was good he was still only standing in the back instead of alone in front of all these people.

The lights dimmed and two single spotlights shone onto Sam and Quinn who stepped forward to take the first lines.

Can anybody find me somebody to love?

Each morning I get up I die a little

Can barely stand on my feet

Take a look in the mirror and cry

Lord what you're doing to me

Sam and Quinn took a step back, just as Tina and Mike stepped forward to take over from them

I have spent all my years in believing you

But I just can't get no relief, Lord!

Somebody, somebody

Can anybody find me somebody to love?

Tina and Mike were replaced by Artie and Puck who sounded surprisingly good together as well. Artie was even accompanying the band on the guitar while he was singing.

Got no feel, I got no rhythm

I just keep losing my beat

I'm ok, I'm alright

Ain't gonna face no defeat

From the corner of his eye Finn saw Kurt step forward with a huge smile on his face before he sung the next two lines with Blaine.

I just gotta get out of this prison cell

Someday I'm gonna be free, Lord!

Finn had only heard the song in rehearsals a few times, but he was swept away by Mercedes yet again as she stepped forward.

Can anybody find me somebody to love?

Santana and Brittany, and all the other Glee couples paired off for the last part of the song and Finn was proud that he didn't step on anyone's toes as he tried to keep up with the choreography.

Once the applause had quieted down and they all left the stage together, he saw Kurt disappear down one hallway and quickly ran after him. He finally caught him in front of his locker where Kurt was spraying his hair with another ton of hairspray.

"Kurt, there's something I need to tell you," he started as he caught Kurt's attention. "Oh my God, Sarah's not pregnant, is she?" What. He and Sarah hadn't done that yet, but it sure would be nice if she let him. But back to the task at hand.

"No. I just wanted to apologize. For how I treated you when we first met. You're a pretty awesome dude and I shouldn't have done that." He finally said it and believed it. Kurt gave him a surprised smile.

"I forgive you, but only if you finally stop calling me dude." There was a small smile on Kurt's face and Finn acted on impulse and pulled his smaller brother into a hug, trying not to crush him.

When he released Kurt, he huffed and straightened his hair again, but there was a smile on his face. "Come on, let's go back and see if we won that thing."

Together they went back and found the rest of the club just as they were going back on stage. He saw Kurt and Blaine glare into the direction of a group of boys wearing identical blazers but shrugged. He would probably never get the show choir rivalry, but he was ecstatic when the MC announced that they were going to Nationals.

Their parents found them backstage and with them was an unfamiliar woman who pulled a reluctant Blaine into her arms. His mom must have caught his confused expression because she leaned in to whisper into his ear. "That's Blaine's mom. They've been apart for a while, so be nice and make her feel welcome."

Finn nodded before he was pulled away by the other club members who wanted to get their party on. Finn let them pull him along. It felt great being part of a winning team again with friends who weren't just his friends because of his popularity.

The Sunday after the kids had won their singing competition Burt decided it was time to finally have an honest talk with his son. He found Kurt already dressed and keys in hand in front of the door as he came down the stairs.

"Going somewhere?" he asked Kurt who clearly didn't expect anyone to be up yet. "I'm going to see mom," Kurt explained, looking mildly uncomfortable.

"Do you mind if I come with you? There are some things I'd like to tell the both of you." Kurt seemed surprised, but nodded. Burt had hoped Kurt would say yes, but he would have understood if his son wanted to visit his mother's grave on his own.

They didn't talk during the drive to the cemetery as Burt was trying to figure out what he wanted to say to Kurt and Kurt was playing with the straps of his bag. It was surprisingly warm for early March and so they set down on a bench close to Lizzy's grave.

"I met your mom my junior year at McKinley. Her parents had both died and she had to move in with her great grandmother who lived in the McKinley school district. She didn't like me at all at first, because I was just a dumb jock as she called me. And she was right. I just didn't see it like that back in the day."

Kurt was sitting next to him, listening attentively. This was probably the first time he ever heard about his mother's past.

"We ran into each other when we were both living in Columbus after high school and after months of begging she finally agreed to go out with me." That got the expected smile from Kurt.

"Now let me just say that I loved your mother very much, but we were both young and nowhere near ready to start a family. We've only been dating for a few months, when she got pregnant with you in the middle of her sophomore year of college."

Burt saw Kurt nod. Apparently Lizzy had told him this part of the story.

"Your mother had to rely on a scholarship because she didn't have any living relatives, and getting pregnant in the middle of the school year was not helpful if you had to maintain a certain GPA. My parents were furious and demanded that I marry your mother immediately, but your mom, she gave me an out."

Kurt was frowning next to him, and Burt could see that he was putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "But you had me, you kept me."

"Your mom and I, we both talked about having an abortion, but I had a very strict religious upbringing, so I just couldn't say yes. I would have supported whatever decision your mom would have made, but I told her I would stand by her and help her raise the child."

Burt felt tears well up in his eyes, and a few seconds later a handkerchief was being pressed into his hand.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Kurt asked quietly. Burt took a deep breath.

"I promised your mom we'd make it work and in the end I broke that promise. I couldn't deal with the fact that you were different than what I had expected and instead of supporting you and your mother I let you both down. I ran when I was given the chance. I broke my promise to always stand by her and left. And for years after, I didn't really regret it. In my opinion I wasn't some deadbeat dad, because I sent your mother money for you every months and she had made it clear she didn't want me around you."

Burt looked up and took a glance at his ex-wife's grave. He had to continue his story, he owed her this much.

"I'm not trying to excuse what I did. I know now that I was wrong, but back then I thought I was in the right and your mom in the wrong. I thought it was her fault you were the way you were, because she let you put on dresses and play with dolls and after a while she wouldn't leave you alone with me anymore because she found out I pushed you into things you didn't like."

"Like all the sport's leagues you wanted me to join?" Kurt asked. Burt nodded.

"I didn't mind the sport too much, but the other kids were always pushing me around because I dressed and acted differently." Burt looked at Kurt in surprise. He hadn't known that the bullying had started this early.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt shrugged. "You used to say boys don't cry and to just fight back if someone pushed you. But I didn't like fighting and I didn't want you to be mad that I let other kids push me around."

Shit, he really had been a horribly father if Kurt had been afraid to come to him when he was still a little kid.

"I'm sorry Kurt for making you feel like you couldn't come to me and that I acted like a jerk. But I promise that this is in the past now. From now on, you come first and I'll protect you if someone is trying to hurt you."

Burt didn't give Kurt a chance to reply and pulled his son into his arms. He knew that one or two apologies wouldn't make up for all the things he had done wrong in his life, but this time he would honor the promise he just made.

Because he knew – if he broke it again, he would lose Kurt for good.

Things calmed down for a bit after Regionals. Blaine was back home and he and Kurt seemed to be working out their differences. Carole found them kissing on the couch more than once, so she assumed everything was okay between them again.

Kurt had told her about Friday night dinners, and Carole had insisted that they get reinstated. Most Fridays, Blaine's mom joined them now and Carole gained a new adult friend whom she could meet for coffee or go shopping to the mall with when Kurt didn't have time to take her.

It wasn't all sun and rainbows all of a sudden, but the atmosphere in their house was less tense ever since Burt had taken Kurt to see his mother. She didn't know what they had talked about – for once Burt hadn't filled her in – but she could see that father and son were getting along better than ever.

March turned into April and the boys started to use their house as a rehearsal space for their next competition. Finn was ecstatic because his choir teacher had given him two lines in the group number and Rachel and Kurt spent a lot of the time practicing their duet.

Thanks to Finn's new girlfriend, his grades were improving and her son spent many afternoons playing football in the park to prepare for next year's tryouts. All in all life was good.

Two weeks before the kid's choir competition, Carole was approached by Ms. Corcoran who asked her if she and Burt wanted to come along to New York as chaperones. Neither Carole nor Burt had ever been, so Blaine promised to be their tour guide on days off because he was the only one in the household who had visited the city multiple times.

Burt didn't care all that much about New York, but he still took her out to a fancy restaurant on the second night while the kids had another last minute rehearsal.

The next day, she watched proudly as her three boys took the stage and performed three amazing songs. She knew she was probably biased, but for her New Direction was the best choir on stage that day.

The morning after she took Kurt shopping to calm him down while they waited for the results. Carole knew Burt wouldn't be too happy when he saw their credit card statement, but at least Kurt was happy. She was aware that Kurt had plans to move to New York for college and it made her a little sad when she realized they only had one year left they could spend together.

She hadn't talked to him yet about his plans for after he turned eighteen, but she was hoping to convince him to not move out.

Carole and Kurt returned just in time for the big announcement and she held Burt's hand tightly as the kids converged around the board that announce the winners. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long, because a few minutes later Kurt was practically skipping back to them.

The kids had placed 7th in the entire nation, and Carole couldn't have been more proud. Judging by the smile on Burt's face, he felt the same way.

In the end, Carole convinced Burt to stay a couple of days longer, while the kids flew back to Lima. They had never really had a proper honeymoon, and now that things had quieted down at home, it was time for them enjoy some peace and quiet far away from their children.

The house was still standing when they returned three days later, but Carole found the remnants of the party the kids must have had in the trashcan. She knew that the kids regularly blackmailed each other, and now she had something she could hold over their heads as well.

With finals approaching at the end of April, Carole and the boys spent most of their time with their noses buried in books, but it all paid off in the end. In early May, Carole had complete her first semester in college and her family was throwing a party in her honor.

A lot had happened in the past year, and while they had their ups and downs, it had been a pretty good year for Carole.

Her next mission. Make it through the boys' senior year as a family.

Up Next: Last Chapter - Fresh Start