AN: A little history about the Kingdom of America in this one.

Chapter 12

Blaine learns from the news that Kurt went missing after his last show Sunday night. They found the cab driver who picked him up and dropped him off at a Subway station in Lower Manhattan. There's CCTV footage of him getting on a train to Brooklyn but none of him getting off because the footage from the trains is only stored twenty-four hours and the cameras in the Bushwick stations were down after a blackout earlier in the 's video footage from people who were on the train with Kurt, but no one seems to remember if he got off at his usual stop or not. In the videos, Kurt looks like he isn't bothered by any of it, but Blaine knows him and those smiles - everyone would be able to tell they are fake if Kurt wasn't such a good actor.

And there's nothing he can do, but sit in his office and watch the news, because officially he can't get involved. Not just because Sue told him so, he's her boss so technically he doesn't have to listen to her, but also because his deal with Charlotte would be off immediately if he started looking for Kurt too. They talked on the phone briefly this morning and Blaine had explained that he couldn't announce their engagement until Kurt was found hopefully unharmed because it would make him look like a massive douchebag if he got engaged while his ex-boyfriend is missing. And Charlotte begrudgingly agreed and extended her ultimatum to the end of the month.

"But that's it," she said. "I hear that you are in contact with him or you don't announce our engagement in the next three weeks, I'm out."

So he doesn't get involved but scours the internet for news on Kurt instead of reading through the stack of bills he's required to vote on or interviewing advisors and chiefs of staff. For now he's content to let Sue handle everything from informing Columbia that he won't continue his study for obvious reasons, arranging his move from Richmond House to the Palace and getting Cooper's things out of the King's quarters so Blaine can move in. He tells his secretary to arrange for Cooper's belongings to be sent to Richmond House for the time being since he doesn't know what his brother's plans are upon his return and he can't ask him either because his phone's off. All he knows is that he's brother's in the Bahamas with his new wife and step-kids because you can't abdicate from the throne of America and expect not to get recognized on a Caribbean island.

With a sigh he turns off his computer and tries to focus on the pile of papers on his desk because he has a responsibility to his people now and they have to come first no matter how much it pains him.

It takes four days until Kurt's identified because the doctors thought it best not to extubate yet and with both arms in casts from his wrists to above his elbow and his broken fingers immobilized as well there is no way he can write down his name either.

But on the fourth morning, the swelling around his eyes and broken nose goes down and when a nurse comes in to check up on him, her loud gasp makes him blink his eyes open and close again immediately, because he actually can open them and the harsh hospital light is blinding.

"Oh my God, you're Kurt Hummel. Your face has been all over the news."

Kurt nods slowly, his eyes still closed and then nurse notices his discomfort and dims the light so Kurt can slowly open his eyes again and take in his surroundings.

His hospital room is completely bare save for the medical equipment around his bed but it makes sense because if no one knows he's here then he can't have had any visitors yet and from what he's heard the doctor say he's in intensive care and maybe isn't even allowed flowers in his room.

"Is there anyone you'd like me to call? Your family? Or your ICE? It says here your emergency contacts are a Rachel Berry and a Santana Lopez."

Kurt carefully shakes his head and makes a note to change that once he's better.

"No, don't call your ICE?" the nurse asks and Kurt nods again careful not to disrupt the tube down his throat.

"Do you know your mom or your dad's number? We don't have it on file but how about I go through the numbers and you nod when I get to a right one?"

Kurt grimaces as he nods again because every little movement is hurting him even though he's sure the hospital has him on strong pain killers.

"Or better blink once for yes and twice for no." Kurt blinks once.

The nurse leaves him alone for a few minutes to let the police know that he's been found - apparently he's been reported missing after all - and to get her phone so she can call his family. When she comes back she's smiling at Kurt.

"The police gave me your father's contact information and he's trying to get here as quickly as possible." she informs him.

He doesn't want his dad to see him like this, a bruised and broken mess, but he also doesn't want to be here without his dad because being near his dad always makes him feel safe.

He doesn't realize he's crying until the nurse gently dries his bruised cheeks and then sits with him until he's cried himself out and falls asleep again thanks to the meds being administered constantly through his IV.

Blaine gets woken up by a loud knock on his door. He's asleep in his old bedroom because he doesn't feel comfortable sleeping in the King's bedroom yet because every time he walks into it he's reminded that less than a year ago this used to be his parent's bedroom. And speaking of parents - the press has been having a field day because his mother hasn't come back from Europe yet. Apparently, her reluctance to return means she disapproves of her youngest son ascending the throne and she wants to postpone facing him for as long as possible. Another thing for Sue to handle he decided.

"What?" he yells in the direction of the door because his alarm isn't supposed to go off for another thirty minutes.

"They've found Kurt," Sam's voice is muffled as he speaks through the closed doors and Blaine's out of bed in a flash and strides to his bedroom door.

"Where is he? Is he okay?" His voice is shaky and there are soft tremors in his hands as well.

Sam's looking a little pale as well when he walks past Blaine and turns on the TV in Blaine's sitting room. The news anchor is talking about how the John Doe that was attacked in Brooklyn a few days ago turned out to be none other than Kurt Hummel and her co-anchor speculates that maybe the police will do more to catch the attackers now that it turns out that the victim isn't a nobody.

"Because it would be typical, wouldn't it? A gay bashing of a nobody - the police briefly investigates and then closes the case for lack of evidence. I mean, they still haven't caught the guys who murdered that kid in Northern Manhattan last spring and put his boyfriend in a wheelchair. But issue some anonymous threats against the Palace and you can be sure the Police will have you arrested in a few hours."

"So you think they are gonna catch the guys who did this to the King's ex? Because come on - everyone knows that taking a break is code for we broke up but we're not ready to tell the kids."

"Are we the kids in this scenario?" the co-anchor asks with a lopsided grin and they continue their banter while Blaine stares at the TV in shock.

He's heard about the attack and remembers looking up the area where it happened and feeling relieved when he saw that it wasn't near Kurt's subway stop. There weren't too many details in the report, only that an unidentified male in his early twenties had been jumped by three male attackers who had run off when the ambulance, who'd been called by a witness who'd happened upon the attack, arrived. The John Doe had been admitted to Brooklyn Hospital with severe injuries but was out of the woods according to doctors after emergency surgery was performed.

And like everyone else Blaine hadn't connected the dots either because Kurt got off the train at a different stop when he took the subway and for all he knew he could have skipped town and was currently in hiding outside of the city.

"Is he conscious?" he asks Sam because the news isn't saying anything about how Kurt's doing or if he's family's with him. "And can you find out if Burt and Carole are already on their way and if not get them on the next flight out here."

"I'll find out," Sam says and then Blaine's alone with his thoughts.

His first instinct is to get dressed and rush to the hospital to see for himself that Kurt's alive and that his injuries aren't life threatening, but he knows that he can't. There's no way he could get to the hospital undetected now that Kurt's been identified and once Charlotte found out, their deal would be off. And the problem is, Charlotte's right. He won't find another woman as agreeable and qualified as her. Charlotte already knows all his secrets and he wouldn't have to hide his real feelings if they got married. If he were forced to marry someone else though, he'd have to live a lie for the rest of his life and he can't do that again, not to himself and not to his future wife. But he can't imagine not going to see Kurt to check for himself that he's going to be all right either. No matter what he'll do, someone is going to get hurt, because he's under no illusion that Kurt would ever forgive him if Blaine doesn't visit him in the hospital and if he does, he'll ruin all chances of a marriage that will give him some freedom once his duty to the Kingdom has been fulfilled.

Since there's nothing he can do for the moment anyway, he showers and dresses while he waits for Sam to return and by the time he does, Blaine's on the couch and watching the news again.

"I got in touch with Mr. Hummel but he, uh, said, you've already done enough and that he doesn't need your help. And the hospital wouldn't give out any information since I couldn't tell them I was calling on your behalf. They said if I was really a friend of Kurt's than I should contact his family and they could give me an update. But um, I'm not sure that Mr. Hummel would. At least not if he knows it's really you that's asking," Sam says and Blaine slams his hand down on the coffee table in frustration.

Because the Palace can't inquire about Kurt's health without it being made public and Kurt's friends probably will be just as reluctant to update him as Burt Hummel. Because he's pretty sure they all know Blaine broke up with Kurt no matter what the Palace's statement said and he would be naive to think they didn't all take Kurt's side. Not knowing what else to do, he sends a text message to Burt Hummel and prays that the man will take pity on him and give him and update once he gets to New York.

Mr. Hummel. I know I'm probably the last person you want to hear from right now, but I'm really worried about Kurt and I would be eternally grateful if you could let me know how he's doing. Please don't tell him I've asked because I'm not supposed to be in contact with him, but I would really appreciate it if you could give me an update once you've seen him. - B

Then he pockets his phone and turns to Sam. "Have my office call the Prime Minister and tell him I have to postpone our meeting for personal reasons. And make them clear my calendar for the rest of the day too. There's no way I will be able to concentrate until I know Kurt's doing okay."

"You could just go and visit him," Sam points out. "I'm sure you wouldn't be refused."

"Really, you think Kurt would even let me see him after…?" he trails off because he knows it was a dick move to just end things with Kurt and then say in the press it was a mutual decision.

"You really hurt him, but Kurt loves you, so I think yes, he'd would like to see you, because it would prove that you still care."

"And if I don't go and see him?" Blaine asks because apparently it's gotten to the point where he's getting relationship advice from his personal guards. Which shouldn't be a bad thing since Puck's been in a relationship with Dr. Fabray for two years and Sam's been with his high school sweetheart Mercedes for nearly eight years already.

"If I were him, I'd never want to see you again if you didn't bother to come see me in the hospital," Sam says simply. "But then again that shouldn't be a problem for you, right? I mean you, broke up with him and you plan to marry Lady Charlotte so why should it matter if he wants to see you again or not? Unless, you'd rather be with him, but decided to make both of you unhappy instead of trying to find a way to make it work with him."

And with that Sam walks out of the room, leaving Blaine to his thoughts again.

"Maybe I'm paranoid, but is that waiter glaring daggers at me?" Cooper asks his wife while they are having a romantic dinner together on the the terrace of a restaurant facing the ocean. The kids are with a nanny provided by the hotel so they can enjoy a night out just the two of them.

Sarah looks over her shoulder and winces. "If I were you I probably wouldn't eat or drink whatever he brings over. He looks like he wants to strangle you."

"Well, that won't do. I've heard the food here is amazing and I want to see what all the fuss is about."

He gets out of his chair and beckons the waiter to follow him down to the beach.

"Is there a problem?" he asks the young man point blank because he wants to enjoy dinner with his new wife and not have to worry about some waiter.

"It's all your fault," the young man says in a heavy southern accent. One of Cooper's former subjects then.

"You abdicated and King Blaine broke up with Kurt because apparently Kurt's not good enough for a King. Why'd you have to do it? Do you know much it meant for us to see the Crown Prince with a boyfriend?"

"But I got you access to adoption and surrogacy, I'm on your side," Cooper protests because what the hell - Blaine broke up with Kurt?

"That's gonna do us a whole lot of good if the King marries a woman because then everyone will say, look he's gay and he's in a happy relationship with a woman, so why aren't you? Do you really expect insurance to cover the cost of you having a baby with the help of a surrogate if you could just marry Mindy from next door and have a family with her the way God intended you to? Did you think about that when you made him King and forced him back into the closet? It would have been better if he'd never come out because at least then no one could say that homosexuals can be cured and have happy heterosexual relationship if they just want it badly enough."

Cooper listens to the waiter's outburst in shock, because something must have gone terribly wrong if Blaine really dumped Kurt so he can marry a woman instead. Does his brother not understand that Cooper's made it so that he can be King and with Kurt regardless what any bishops or the homophobes in the Kingdom say. Or has his brother really internalized their father's homophobia so badly that he thinks he can't be gay and be King of America because it's unheard of even though some countries in Europe have laws that would theoretically allow a homosexual King or Queen.

"Trust me, that was not my intent at all," he tells the irate waiter. "Quite the opposite actually."

And then he turns his phone on for the first time since leaving Las Vegas, bypassing all the missed calls and text messages and dialing his brother's number as he walks away from the restaurant toward the ocean.

"What the hell Blaine," he hisses when his brother picks up after the second ring. "I'm trying to enjoy my honeymoon and then I nearly get poisoned by my gay waiter because you broke with Kurt. After everything I've done for you. Have you lost your mind? You better have fixed this before I get back because I don't want to spend the rest of my life afraid that your community is going to lynch me for breaking up the dream team."

Blaine's response is to hang up the phone and Cooper looks at it flabbergasted before hurling it into the ocean because what the hell's wrong with his brother?

"After everything he's done for me?" Blaine snorts incredulously after hanging up on his brother because this takes the cake.

His brother's got some nerve, being angry with Blaine for breaking up with Kurt when it was Cooper's selfish actions that made him break up with Kurt in the first place. Cooper knows just as well as Blaine that he and Kurt don't have a future together because what point is there to them having the legal right now to have children through surrogacy if their children won't be considered legitimate heirs. So Cooper's done nothing for him, because Blaine needs to have children who can carry on the line even if it means caving and agreeing to Charlotte's demand that all heirs will be of Virginia and Carolina.

He's already in a foul mood because it's been twenty-four hours since Kurt's been identified and he still doesn't know how he's doing because no one's returned his messages. He's had Sam reach out to Dani, Rachel and even Santana but neither had responded and all he learned from the theater's website was that currently, the role of Peter Pan is played by Kurt's understudy. He's also under pressure to finally have his first meeting with Prime Minister Grey and to issue a formal invitation to the bishops so he and the Church can figure out how to move forward after Blaine spent the last two months publicly dating a man. And he so does not want to have the meeting - at least not until he's officially announced his engagement to Lady Charlotte.

The Palace has released only one other statement which said that Blaine would give a press conference once he's had time to familiarize himself with his future role since he didn't have the training his brother had and was never groomed to be King so he needs this adjustment period.

Which is true but he also wants to wait until he's officially engaged to a woman before he addresses the Kingdom for the first time so he doesn't have to deal with questions about how he can even consider accepting the Crown when he was in a public homosexual relationship until recently. Because he knows someone will ask those questions. Maybe even Prime Minister Grey, the leader of the conservative party, but most certainly the conservative media who's been very vocal about what a disgrace a gay Crown Prince was for the country. Add to this a rise in homophobic attacks in the last few days since Cooper ran off and forced Blaine's hand and his reluctance to step out as a 'gay King' should be understood. How can he 'stay' gay if all over the Kingdom people are being hurt by homophobes showing how not okay with a homosexual King they are. What if he could make it safer for people again, if he announced his engagement to Charlotte because at least then, America wouldn't be known as the gay Kingdom throughout the world.

He's pulled from his revelry by a beep from his intercom. "Yes what is it?" he asks his secretary a little more harshly than necessary because Rory is doing his best and it's not his fault Blaine's in such a bad mood.

"A Mister Burt Hummel is asking for an audience with you. He's at the east gate."

Blaine's hands shake as he pushes the button to answer. "Send him in."

If Burt's willing to see him, then Blaine will take getting yelled at over not knowing how Kurt's doing. "I'll wait for him in the library."

Fifteen minutes later, a pale looking Burt Hummel with bags under his eyes is led into the Palace library and Blaine gets up in greeting and holds out his hand to shake, but Burt ignores it and bows deeply instead.

"Your Majesty, I'm only here because it would drive me crazy not knowing how Kurt's doing and I know how you feel about my son whether you are willing to acknowledged it or not."

"Please take a seat," Blaine offers, but again Burt refuses.

"I'll make it quick. They intubated him when he had to have emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen and there's still a tube in his throat because his broken ribs cause him trouble breathing. The only way to communicate with him is through blinking because he can't use either of his hands and it hurts him to move his head. It will be at least six weeks before the casts come off and if he follows doctor's orders his ribs should have healed in six weeks too. He will be kept in the hospital for at least another week and when he's released we'll have him transferred to Ohio so Carole can care for him at home because he'll need 24/7 care until the casts are removed. Kurt's intent on returning to New York as soon as he's well enough and I won't be able to stop him, but until then he will be with family where he belongs.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Hummel. If there's anything I can do to help…"

Burt fixes him with a cold stare that makes Blaine feel like the dirt on the bottom of his shoe.

"You could grow some balls and do the right thing here, Your Majesty." It sounds like the dirtiest word in the world the way Burt says it. "Because it ain't right you not coming to see him. Because those men, they attacked him because of you, no matter what everyone says. They knew who he was to you and they nearly killed him. So grow some balls and come to see him and if you don't you better stay away from him for good, or I come after you, King or not."

"It's not that easy, Mr. Hummel," Blaine pleads and tries not to lower his eyes. "It's not like I don't want to see Kurt, but there are all those royal laws I have to follow now. And if I go, it will be on someone's Twitter within seconds and on all the evening news and I can't have that. It isn't just about me anymore, I have to do what's best for the Kingdom."

"And that's a King, who will be known as a liar and a coward?" Burt snort derisively. "Years ago I told Kurt that if there aren't any roles for him, maybe he had to write them himself and I'm going to tell you the same things. If there aren't any laws that would allow you and my son to be together, change the laws. You're the King now, no one else is going to do it for you."

Blaine shakes his head dejectedly. "I wish I could, Mr. Hummel. But I can't go against the Church like that. It's a miracle they haven't forced me to abdicate yet as it is, but I can't openly defy them by demanding that parliament give me the same rights as all my subjects. And the Prime Minister would never go for it either. It would be political suicide for him."

"Seems like you made your choice then," Burt sighs. "But when your people say they hate you when you marry some floozy, don't come crawling back to Kurt. He deserves better than that."

"That's something we agree on, Mr. Hummel," Blaine offers his hand again but again, Burt bows stiffly and walks backwards out of the room as if he were a total stranger who has to follow court ceremonial to a T instead of the father of the love of Blaine's life.

He spends the rest of the day holed up in his old bedroom running through all possible scenarios. At the moment he probably is the Church's best option because no one else in his extended family is even remotely qualified for the job. Blaine's at least had had some of the same training Cooper's had. He speaks the required languages, has trained with the royal army, knows all the protocols thanks to spending his childhood in the Palace first when his grandfather was King and later when it was his father's turn, he knows how to behave in the presence of other royalty and he has a good understanding of politics at home and elsewhere even though he hasn't been able to finish his college degree. Columbia's offered to let him finish his classes online probably because it will boost the university's image if the King's a graduate and Blaine's told them he'd like to take them up on the offer the coming fall because right now, there are more important things for him to focus on. Like making a decision about Kurt.

Because it stung when Burt called him a coward. It reminded him of his father who used to call him a pansy even after Blaine had gone through rigorous military training. Are they right, he wonders as he lies on his back and stares at the ceiling as if it would offer him the answers. Is he a coward because he didn't even try to fight for his relationship? He is the most powerful person in the Kingdom and if not even the King can find a way to work around royal laws that were created to protect the royal family when nothing else would, then no one could.

The laws came from a time when wives of Kings were routinely kidnapped and raped by non ruling aristocrats who would only return them to the Palace once they were pregnant because this way they could plant an heir in the Palace. So a law was created that said that royal titles would only be issued to children born from two married royal parents. All "illegitimate children" were stripped of their titles and in some instances outcast. It was at a time when America wasn't united like today.

In the south, the youngest son of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain ruled over the Spanish colonies, while a son of Francois I was head of the French colonies along the Mississippi. Not wanting to be left out, King James I sent his son Charles I to Virginia where Charles I was crowned King of Virginia in Jamestown, the settlement named in his father's honor. James' son Robert was sent along the Saint Lawrence river where he ruled over what is now eastern Canada. It was King Charles' heirs that became the Lords over the other thirteen founding states and it was they who tried to get their sons on the throne by impregnating the wives of the reigning kings. The laws were changed and dissidents executed publicly before wars were waged on the French King of America and the Spanish King of America. By the late 18th century, the descendants of British King James I had driven the French and the Spanish out of what they called America and Canada, and Blaine's family, the line of Virginia, had been ruling America since. Apart from brief breaks between 1650 and 1710 it had always been Blaine's family who was in charge and he couldn't in good conscience be the one who ended it for selfish reasons because if there was no suitable heir in Blaine's branch, then the Carolina's who had often married into the royal family during the last 200 years might provide one.

But not until whoever the Church picked to replace him had gone through the extensive training needed today to be King or Queen and had passed all background checks. So even if he defied the Church and chose Kurt over the Crown, they couldn't get rid off him immediately and maybe if he managed to change the laws regarding royal parentage, he could create an heir before the Church could replace him and thus keep the line of Virginia going.

There where so many ifs and maybes in this plan and it all would hinge on parliament supporting his plans when parliament rarely supported the ruling monarch if the monarch didn't have the backing of the Church. Too much could go wrong if he sided with Kurt. He'd definitely lose Charlotte and very likely the throne as well and then the line of Virginia might be over because Blaine chose to be selfish.

But whenever he considers a future without Kurt in it, it feels like someone is stabbing him in the heart repeatedly. Everything would be much easier had they gone their separate ways after their ill-fated first night together, but Blaine wanted to be selfish just this once and act like he wasn't the heir presumptive to the throne. He should have stopped it the moment his father died and he became number one in line to the throne, but he'd longed for a boyfriend for so long and Kurt turned to out to be everything he ever wanted and then some. He'd thought that maybe fate would give him a break and would let him be truly happy for once, but he should have known that it wouldn't last.

And what if the fates are testing him? But if they are what's the test? Does he have to stay strong in the face of temptation or does he have to prove that he's a strong King who doesn't back away from a challenge even if that means going against the Church that legitimizes his rule, because they aren't royal by elections, it is their god given right to reign whether Blaine agrees with that or not. It's not just the the crown that will make him a true King, it's the archbishop's blessing and getting anointed with holy oil. Only then will he be His Majesty the King by Grace of God, and if the Church refuses to crown him, then he'll have no choice but to abdicate.

He's going in circles, Blaine realizes because in the end it all comes down to this: Can he risk it that the Church might force him to abdicate even if there's no suitable heir and whoever came next, would have neither the experience nor the understanding of what it means to serve the Crown and might be the worst choice for the Kingdom. Can he put his own happiness above what's best for the Kingdom on the off chance that parliament would let him change a law the would allow him to be King and with Kurt? Not for the first time in months does he curse his father for dying and starting this whole mess.

He's a little more alert today, but it's still a relief when Rachel does all the talking because communication by blinking is exhausting.

"And I wish you could have been there to see me, because Kurt, it was amazing. I mean what are the chances of both of them getting food poisoning? I honestly thought I would never go on and then there I was and people were applauding my performance," Rachel beams still on a high from getting to go on as Eliza the night before and Kurt too wishes he could have been there. He'll tell her how amazing her news is when the stupid tube's finally out and he can talk again.

"I was really nervous at first because like I said I thought I would never play the role, but I think I did well and I didn't forget any of my lines. And Jesse's so proud of me, he's spent all morning online to see if anyone had recorded the show last night."

Kurt tries not to cry when Rachel gushes about her perfect boyfriend because he'd thought he had the perfect boyfriend too - charismatic, handsome, musically inclined and a real life prince on top of that - and now he's lying in a hospital bed and his prince doesn't even care about him enough to come visit him. He isn't stupid, he knows why Blaine hasn't come. Because Blaine thinks that if he's seen at the hospital, then people will think he's picking Kurt over the Crown which is ridiculous because officially they're on a break and it's only natural that you come visit your partner in the hospital after an attack even if you are on a break. But he knows Blaine well enough that he knows he won't come, that the Crown will always come first and that when he walked out of Richmond House less than a week ago, he walked out of the King's life for good.

So he listens to Rachel go on and on about being on stage last night and how she hopes someone had filmed it so she can watch and check for things she has to improve. He's nearly asleep when there's a knock on the door and a young nurse pokes her head in, looking like a deer caught in headlines, her face pale except for the flush on her cheeks.

"Excuse me Mr. Hummel, but His Majesty is here to see you. He wants to know if he can see you."

If I manage to finish 14 today, you'll get 13 tonight. And I'm working my way through replying to comments, but I assumed you'd prefer a new chapter first ;)