AN: Sorry for any mistakes. My contacts are acting up and without them I'm basically blind because I misplaced my glasses years ago (so even typing this is hard right now :( ) I'll read through it again once my eyes are working again...

Chapter 21: Kurt Anderson vs the state of Ohio - Pt 2

Kurt

Kurt and the two Hummels shared a look – because who the hell was Cooper Anderson?

A tall man with dark hair and eyes that reminded Kurt of his own approached the stand, but Kurt was sure he had never seen him before.

"Please state your name and date of birth." "Cooper James Anderson, born March 16th, 1983," the stranger replied, but Kurt still had no clue what he was doing here.

"And what is your relation to Mr. Jarred Anderson?" The stranger looked up and glared at Kurt's dad. "He is my father."

Kurt gasped and Burt and Blaine looked shocked too. How could he not know he had a brother or half-brother or whatever? The point was, why had his parents hidden him from Kurt.

"Your parents are divorced, is that correct?" the judge asked and the stranger – Cooper – nodded. "Why did your mother leave your father?"

"Because he hit me when he drank too much." At that point Kurt had expected something like that to come but he was still surprised because he had always thought his father had abused him beåcause he was gay, because he was different, because he wasn't the son he wanted. Cooper though looked like a perfect son, so it really threw him for a loop.

"My mother never reported it because she let it happen for a while and she was afraid to lose me, if she did report it. You have to understand though, my mother was sixteen when she had me, my father eighteen. She didn't know at first and when she did she was afraid to leave him because she had no education, no job and a seven year old. But had I known he would do it again I would have said something sooner," Cooper continued before he looked in Kurt's direction and their eyes met for the first time.

Kurt smiled at him tentatively, to tell him he didn't blame him for not speaking up, because he hadn't either, but he understood why Cooper might feel guilty because he would feel the same if he found out his dad had another kid after Kurt moved out, and abused the kid because Kurt had kept his mouth shut.

"Mr. Anderson," the judge continued, "in case we decide to terminate your father and stepmother's parental rights would be able to become Kurt's guardian until he comes of age?"

Kurt sat up straighter. He may have never heard of his half-brother before but if he couldn't stay at the Hummels, he would probably still be a better option than his mother. To his relief though the young man looked slightly guilty and shook his head.

"I mean if there is no other option sure, but I just found out I had a brother a few days ago and I live in California. Kurt's case worker told me he was staying with a nice family now and was really happy there so the last thing I would want is disrupt his life even more and take him with me to California."

Kurt frantically shook his head, hoping the judge would get the message. He had only a couple of months of his junior year left and as much as he hated McKinley, he didn't want to have to change schools now, where he would be completely alone again and worst – Blaine would be thousands of miles away.

"Alright, thank you Mr. Anderson."

His half-brother left the stand and then walked over to where Kurt and the Hummels were sitting. "Mr. Hummel?" he asked Burt who nodded. "If it's all right with you, I'd love to talk to Kurt when we are done here. I think we have a lot of catching up to do."

Burt looked at Kurt questioningly and Kurt nodded. He was curious about this mysterious brother as well.

"Why don't you come over for dinner at our house," Burt suggested. "Are you staying in town?" Cooper nodded. "Mrs. Hoffs put me up in a hotel in Lima," he whispered when the judge cleared his throat.

"Court is dismissed. I will inform you of my decision tomorrow morning at nine. Have a good day."

Burt gave Cooper there address and Kurt and the two Hummels piled into Burt's truck.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" Blaine's dad asked and Kurt shrugged. "I think I'm in shock or something?" he admitted. "I mean how could I not know I had a brother? Did my mom know I had one? Did they hide him because they were afraid I would run off to find him if they told me?"

There were so many unanswered questions and he hoped Cooper would be able to shed some light on them.

As soon as they reached the house, Burt and Blaine excused themselves into the kitchen under the guise of making dinner, leaving Kurt alone with Cooper in the living room.

"So you are twenty-eight and live in California?" Kurt asked once they were seated in the living room, at loss for where else to start. Cooper nodded. "How old where you when you and your mom left?"

"I was eight," Cooper replied. "Coincidentally my mother only really found the courage to finally leave him when she discovered he was having an affair with your mother," he added.

"And you really never knew about me either?" Kurt asked curiously. Cooper shook his head.

"When mother told her parents what had happened they agreed to let her move back in, into their new house in Florida. They told her to send him divorce papers and tell him to never contact us again if he wanted to avoid being questioned by the police. He sent them back and that was the last we heard of him. I knew there was always the possibility that he would remarry and have more children but no, I didn't know about you until I was contacted a few days ago by Ohio social services. Apparently they've been trying to find family members for a while and when she called I promised to fly up and testify against him after I told her about my past."

Kurt gave Cooper another once over. He was wondering what Cooper's mother looked like because apart from the face that they had nearly the same eye color there wasn't much of a resemblance. He had grown taller the past year, but Cooper still had a couple of inches on him and his hair was black instead of Kurt's light brown hair.

"Mrs. Hoffs said you'd only need a temporary guardian. How old are you?" Cooper asked after eying Kurt as well. "I'll be eighteen in May," he replied.

"Oh, so you are a senior. Any plans for next year? I'm an actor out in Hollywood so if that's something you are interested in you should come out. I could introduce you to people."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm only a junior and I want to be on Broadway if I do anything acting related. I love to sing," he added.

Cooper made a face and for a moment Kurt thought he was ´just another asshole who thought his voice was too girly for singing. But to his immense relief Cooper apparently just wasn't a Broadway fan.

"You should still come out to L.A when you are done with school. Nobody needs college and theater is dead. If you want to be successful you have to go to L.A," he explained.

Kurt wasn't sure what to make of that, because he had never heard of Cooper Anderson before, even after months of movie education with Blaine, so he couldn't be that successful.

"Is there anything I could have seen you in?" he asked curiously.

Cooper nodded. "I've been doing a lot of commercials lately. Very successfully. And I'm hoping to get an audition for the new Transformer movie."

"That's great," Kurt told him as enthusiastically as possible. "So you understand why I can't just move back here and take you in, right? I really need to stay in Hollywood right now if I want to make it on the big screen."

Kurt nodded. "Like you said. I like living with Blaine and Burt. I've known them since I was a child and I really don't want to lose them right now."

At that moment, Burt and Blaine entered the living room, carrying a huge amount of Chinese take out. Blaine sat down next to him and snuggled up closely and Kurt could see Cooper's eyebrows go up.

"So this is why you don't want to move," he remarked and Kurt tensed. "Relax," Cooper chuckled. "I think you are adorable, but I have to say, if Mrs. Hoffs hadn't pointed you out to me, I would have thought it was Blaine who was my brother."

Kurt looked from Cooper to his boyfriend and had to admit he had a point. There was a lot more resemblance between those two than between him and his half-brother.

Kurt saw Blaine side-eye his dad who shook his head. "Don't even go there, kiddo. I'm way to young to be his dad. Just because I'm bald doesn't mean I'm ancient," he joked causing all three of them to laugh.

"Let's just eat for now and then Cooper can tells us all about him," he suggested and even Kurt dug in with more appetite than he had in the past few weeks, until he remembered that they still had to wait for the judge's decision and he quickly lost it again.

"So how long are you in town for, Cooper?" Burt asked after they had cleared their plates.

"I need to be back in L.A for an audition next week, but if it's okay I'd like to stay till then, get to know Kurt a bit better," he addressed Kurt who nodded.

"I'd really like that," he told his half-brother.

As it was getting late, Burt convinced Cooper to spend the night at their place so they could drive to the court together – Cooper hadn't checked into his hotel yet, so he had spare clothes.

Falling asleep that night was difficult and he woke himself up screaming an hour later from a nightmare that featured his mother torturing him and social services just watching from the sidelines.

Shakily he went over to Burt's bedroom and knocked on the door. After Burt's muffled 'come in' Kurt stepped inside, hugging himself to stop himself from shaking.

"Are you okay, kiddo? Can't sleep?" Kurt nodded. "I'm sorry to bother you but I had a really bad nightmare. I just don't want to be alone right now," he whispered, cursing himself for acting like a baby over a stupid dream.

Burt sighed. "You wanna stay with Blaine?" Kurt nodded tentatively. He didn't want to break the house rules, but he was afraid to go back to sleep alone.

"Fine, but just this once, all right? And keep the door open. I trust you, but I've been a teenage boy too once."

Kurt blushed, grateful that the darkness was hiding it. "Thank you. I promise, all I want is to sleep with someone close by."

Quietly, he walked over to Blaine's room and knocked once before slipping inside. "Kurt?" Blaine mumbled sleepily. "My dad…"

"It's okay. He said I could stay, unless you don't want me too," he replied hoping he wasn't overstepping or something.

Blaine in response, just moved over to the other side of the bed and patted the right side. Kurt gratefully slipped under the covers next to him trying to get comfortable.

They had fallen asleep together before on top of the covers, but that was different. He wasn't sure what one was expected to do if they shared a bed with a boyfriend.

He swallowed hard before turning to Blaine. "Can you just hold me?"

Blaine opened his arms and Kurt settled with his head on Blaine's shoulder while Blaine's arm curled around him.

He slept through the night without being woken by a nightmare again.

When Burt woke them up the next morning he quickly tried to untangle himself from Blaine but Burt didn't even bat an eyelid. "Coffee's ready. Come downstairs when you're dressed."

Blaine groaned but disappeared into his ensuite bathroom, while Kurt took the other one next to his room. When they came downstairs, dressed for court again, Cooper was already up, talking to someone on the phone, but he didn't look too happy.

"They cancelled my Transformer audition. Apparently, they mistook me for Anderson Cooper who the would be thrilled to have for a cameo appearance," he complained and Kurt gave him a sympathetic smile because he knew what it was like to not get a chance for something even if your audition went well.

"I'm sorry. Maybe you can send them a tape anyway to show them what you can do," he suggested and his half-brother visibly perked up.

"That's a great idea. Thanks Kurt."

Kurt was cuddled up to Blaine again on the drive to the court house, even more nervous than he had been the day before.

They rose when the judge entered the room and Kurt clutched Blaine's hand.

"After careful consideration I have decided to terminate the parental rights of Catherine and Jarred Anderson," the judge announced and Kurt pressed his hands against his mouth to stop himself from squealing or doing something equally embarrassing.

His dad didn't show much emotion, probably having expected it, but his mother started cursing the judge, asking him who the hell he thought he was to tell her she was an unfit mother.

Another threat of a fine, shut her up again and the judge continued. "Catherine Anderson, how do you plead to the charge of fifth degree child endangerment?" His mother raised her head and proudly stated. "Not guilty."

The judge nodded. "I'll sentence you to one year in prison in a low security facility. The sentence can be commuted after six months if you take part in programs decided by social service and show the will to improve yourself."

Kurt looked at the judge in surprise because he honestly hadn't expected a jail sentence for his mother, but after what he had heard about New Year's Eve, he know he shouldn't be too surprised. And although he had still been uneasy about his mother's sentencing days earlier, he knew now that she was probably never going to change and didn't care about him at all, so he was okay with the judge's decision, who turned to his father in that moment.

"Jarred Anderson. How to you plead to the charge of third degree child endangerment?" he asked. Kurt's father looked first at him and then at Cooper with an unreadable expression before he replied. "Guilty, your honor."

Kurt's jaw dropped because he had not expected that at all. "Hearing my older son's testimony made me realize that I had indeed been in the wrong and I accept my sentence," he continued to the surprise of many people in the courtroom as far as Kurt noticed.

It was the closest to an apology Kurt had ever gotten and he didn't know what to do with that. In legal drama's on TV, suspects often pleaded guilty so they would receive a lesser sentence but his father didn't look like he was faking his remorse and he had never been a good actor to begin with.

"Jarred Anderson, I sentence you to four years and a low security facility. A parole hearing will be possible after four years served."

His father just nodded but Kurt quickly turned back to the judge. "Kurt Anderson will remain in the care of Burt Hummel until his eighteenth birthday. Should he decide to move out on his own afterward he can apply for financial support from the state. Case closed."

Blaine beamed at him and before Kurt knew what was happening he pressed a quick kiss to his lips right in the middle of the courtroom, but Kurt was too elated to care about what other people thought.

He was free. He could stay with the Hummels. He had found another family member who was supportive of him. His parents were getting punished for what they had done to him.

He wanted to scream and shout and jump around. For once something good had happened in his life and he needed to celebrate.

"We should have a party," he announced, "with the rest of ND. No use hiding that I'm leaving with you anymore," he added when Blaine looked skeptical.

"He's right," Burt interjected. "It's about time we had a welcome to the family party."

Burt

Once the last members of his boys' glee club had left the house, Burt sat down with Kurt in the living room. Kurt's new brother was already packed up and ready to fly back to Los Angeles the next morning and they had discussed the possibility of Kurt – and maybe even Blaine if he felt comfortable enough sending his boys to Hollywood unsupervised – visiting him during spring break.

Kurt looked exhausted but happy when he sat down opposite Burt on the living room couch.

"How are you?" he asked hoping the party hadn't been too much. Nearly all members had shown up, though Carole's son had been noticeably absent. Their relationship had become a bit strained once he had found out about Finn's involvement in the Karofsky incident, but they were working on it and Carole had promised to have words with Finn.

"I'm good. They all took it surprisingly well and seemed to be happy for me," Kurt answered with a smile on his face.

"Speaking of welcoming you to the family. You know can legally become a member now if you want," he told Kurt though he was sure of Kurt's answer before he even said it.

As expected, Kurt shuddered. "Can you imagine what people at school are going to say if they find out I'm dating my brother?"

"Well, just know. Legal family member or not, you will always have a home here with us, whether you and Blaine are together or not. I had that conversation with Blaine before you started dating and I stand by it. This is your home now as long as you want it."

There were tears in Kurt's eyes and Burt crossed the room to pull him into a hug.

"Hey and who knows maybe you'll be my son one day anyway," he joked, though he hoped at least a few more years would go by before either of his boys thought about marriage.

Kurt pressed his damp cheek against his flannel shirt before he whispered. "I really hope so. Every child would be honored to have a dad like you."

Well, now it was his turn to turn on the waterworks.