The drive into Klamath National Forest is quiet. Dr. Natalie Fox pretends to snooze in the backseat, but in reality she is watching her patient under half closed eyelids. Martin West flips through his novel casually and never even blinks at the two young men sitting on the front bench seat, their hands linked tightly together. Normally she doesn’t ask her head of security to accompany her for day excursions with patients. Martin doesn’t seem to mind that she had asked him. Natalie knows it’s the only reason Blaine Anderson agreed to come on a day trip to the riding center.

Over the years she has seen countless men and women addicted to drugs. At least a third of them have experienced abuse in the past, especially the women. Some of her male patients are victims of rape. She’s had many celebrities come to her clinic. The men that have been brought up in the industry frequently speak about past sexual abuse by managers, directors, agents, and even fellow cast members. Hollywood is glamorous and enchanting to many people all over the world. Natalie has seen the grime underneath the glitter. Behind the scenes, it’s a brutal, lonely, and harsh place.

Their driver hums quietly along to the music. She has to admit, Agent Montgomery is a very handsome man, even if he is twenty years younger than she is. Blaine moves slightly and stealthily studies her for a moment. She freezes as he ensures she is asleep, then he peers at Martin. The lanky black man is absorbed in his novel and is completely oblivious to Blaine’s covert spying. Wes doesn’t notice his friend staring. Once Blaine is satisfied that no one is looking his way, he slowly reaches for the pillow tucked under his back.

Natalie opens her eyes a little more, though not too much to distract her patient, and watches as Blaine runs his fingers over Kurt’s slack jaw. Kurt is slumped against the van’s long window. Blaine takes his time, trying not to wake the sleeping man, and slips the pillow under Kurt’s head. Natalie suspects that Kurt is exhausted because he didn’t sleep last night after Burt Hummel had made an unexpected and unwelcome visit.

Blaine smiles as Kurt leans further into the soft pillow, snuggles under Kurt’s arm, and lays his head on the other man’s chest. It’s rare to see Blaine showing such open affection to Kurt in front of people. Normally, her patient is extremely guarded and wary of displaying any emotion at all except for silent obedience whenever someone else is around. It’s something she’s had to adjust to. Kurt had come to every counseling session for the first month Blaine had been at the clinic. While Blaine accepts her as a trust worthy confidante now, Kurt still waits outside for him in the main office.

She knows, after learning about her patient’s terrible ordeal, that Blaine had been scared she would rape him so she could get pregnant. The day he had finally told her that precious tidbit, she had gone home and sobbed. As a therapist she couldn’t overreact in front of her patients. A combination of excellent training and over twenty years of experience had honed her acting skills. However, Natalie was still human, and her patients’ personal histories often made her cry like a baby in private.

Blaine doesn’t move for the remainder of the trip, content to stay wrapped in Kurt’s relaxed embrace. She can’t help but smile at the scene. It’s touching. No one would know from looking at them that these two young men had been forced apart for years due to one man’s selfish actions. Kurt is still somewhat of an enigma. He’s attended some joint counseling sessions with Blaine, but refuses to see her on his own even though she’s suggested it to him several times over.

It’s not that Natalie believes Kurt needs therapy, but she is certain the young man could use an open and accepting ear to vent to every once in a while. It can’t be easy, living with her patient and trying to help him heal bit by agonizing bit. Blaine is hardly a handful. She can ask him to do something and he will instantly comply, without any complaint no matter what the request is. It’s one of the many issues she has to deal with. The Boss had controlled every detail of Blaine’s life for eight and a half years. Natalie has no idea who the Boss really is, because her patient is too terrified to tell her out of fear of retaliation.

She suspects Kurt knows who Blaine’s employer was, but he’s like a goddamn vault when it comes to secrets. Natalie wishes Kurt would talk to her because it isn’t easy dealing with Blaine’s trauma or mood swings, and she’s not the one living with him. Kurt never says one word to anyone about the struggles he faces as Blaine trudges through rehab, physical therapy, nutritional guidelines, mood swings, and adapting to life outside of his very tiny prison.

When she thinks back to the picture Blaine had drawn, complete with fucking measurements, she shudders. The single room and adjoining bathroom had been only three hundred square feet. Blaine had lived in it for years. The outdoors were something he had expressed interest in, and spent a good amount of time in the clinic’s gardens with Kurt by his side. She could usually find them there on nice days. Sometimes they sat out there when it rained. Natalie figures Blaine will sit in the garden when there’s a foot of snow covering it.

The Silver West Ranch is an impressive sight. Natalie loves bringing her patients here. Not all of them can handle the wide, open spaces or rolling mountain foothills. The horses intimidate some and the dogs terrify others. She thinks Blaine will enjoy all of the animals that reside on the five thousand acre ranch. What concerns her is the staff. Everyone at Silver West is nice and welcoming. They work with At-Risk youth, former drug addicts, mentally ill patients, and special needs children on a daily basis. Each employee is thoroughly screened, required to do a background check, and trained in dealing with a wide range of riders. What worries her is Blaine. He is extremely wary of strangers, regardless of their gender. Martin and Wes are here specifically to protect Blaine. Natalie knows her patient won’t face any threats at the ranch, but he had stubbornly refused to leave the clinic unless Wes was there to protect him.

“Wes is a FBI agent.” Blaine told her one day as he lay comfortably on her leather couch. “He can keep Kurt and I safe.”

After speaking to Wes on the phone, Natalie decided to ease her patient’s fears, and had asked the former Warbler if he would be willing to come for a visit. The Asian man readily agreed. He had only seen Blaine once before the curly haired man had come to the clinic. She knew a lot about her patient’s teenage years. Blaine often fixated on those memories whenever she wanted him to focus on positive experiences for one of their sessions.

Dalton Academy meant a great deal to Blaine. Natalie allowed him to wear his uniform whenever he felt uncomfortable, scared, or angry because he said it made him feel safe. Blaine had yet to move past wearing it. She hoped today might change that. The ranch required practical clothing. Blaine had cried when she said he couldn’t wear the Dalton uniform today. Natalie promised he could put it back on once they returned.

Kurt offered to pick Blaine’s outfit out. She winced when she had seen the two boys emerge from their shared apartment, dressed in identical clothing. It wasn’t what she had in mind when she had insisted Blaine wear something different. They wore denim jeans, comfortable boots, hats, sunglasses, and plain red t-shirts. Wes arrived wearing exactly the same thing Kurt and Blaine had on. Blaine seemed pleased, later telling her at breakfast that it would be harder for the Boss to spot him among the crowd. Natalie patiently reminded him that his boss would not be at the ranch.

The van is parked in front of the red barn. Wes hacks obnoxiously into a tissue, waving away the dust flying into his face as they stroll across the unpaved parking lot.
“Wes has allergies.” Blaine informs her quietly, clinging tightly to Kurt’s hand. “He gets Hay Fever every year.”
“Not anymore, Blaine.” Wes wheezes dismissively. “I just swallowed a mouthful of dust. I’ve gotten my allergies under control, now that I’m older.”
“Oh.” Blaine looks at his friend for a moment. “Where’s David?”

Natalie glances briefly at Blaine, knowing the answer. Kurt has mentioned David a few times and discreetly sends a warning look to Wes.
“Didn’t I tell you?” Kurt jumps in, laughing awkwardly as they approach the barn. “He’s living in London!”

Fortunately, Wes picks up on the cue not to reveal any information. Blaine will freak the fuck out if he learns that his old friend David works for his father’s firm. It will count as betrayal to her patient. Wes shrugs, patting Blaine briefly on the shoulder. “David and I lost touch after graduation. We went to different schools. I really haven’t seen much of him lately.”

Michael Anderson is a topic she frequently discusses with Blaine. While Natalie has no idea who her patient’s boss is, she definitely knows the story behind his kidnapping. It still curls her stomach to think a father could do such a thing to his child. She can’t say that it shocks her all that much. There have been other patients she’s had that have been raped, abused, and impregnated by their fathers. Sometimes the mothers are just as bad. Siblings can be horrible too.
It’s not uncommon for her to hear stories about stage mothers that starve their daughters so they can win beauty pageants or pay for breast implants for their teenagers that have not fully developed. Natalie knows better than most what kinds of things happen to children born into Hollywood’s pressures. She hates seeing her patients relapse once they go back to that unforgiving world.

A thin, petite blond woman comes out of the barn to greet them. Louise Vincent smiles warmly at Natalie, shakes Martin’s hand, and slowly moves towards Blaine. She has no idea what the young man has been through, but she realizes, having worked with inner city kids, that it’s best to be cautious and present herself as non-threatening as she can. Blaine doesn’t accept her extended hand, curling defensively behind Kurt.

Kurt saves Blaine from the uncomfortable situation, stepping forward to shake Louise’s hand before things can get too awkward. The middle aged woman just smiles at the two men, welcomes them to the ranch, and asks everyone to follow her inside the barn.

“It’s alright, Blaine.” Natalie promises, gently leading the way inside. “We’ll be with you the entire time.”
Blaine nods mutely, digging his fingers into Kurt’s arm. Wes sticks closely to his friends’ sides. Martin goes inside the barn first and scopes the scene out for a few minutes. The black man strides back to the group, stopping in front of Blaine so he can tell him what to expect.

“There are two children with Autism in the indoor corral.” Martin begins, chewing on a piece of gum. “And there are handlers inside. There’s a class scheduled at nine-thirty, so there will be more people around later on. Blaine, there’s a group of women inside grooming horses, so they can be ridden.”

“Kurt?” Blaine leans towards Kurt, whispering something inaudible in his ear.
“He doesn’t want to go inside.” Kurt relays, squeezing Blaine’s arm in understanding. “Because of the women.”
“That’s okay.” Natalie smiles, a little disappointed that her patient won’t even consider asking her about it directly. “Martin and I will go inside, so we can bring the horses out here. Louise will be accompanying us on our trail ride, but she’ll ride behind me. Just like we talked about yesterday.”

Blaine nods, fixing his gaze on the ground. It’s a signal to take her leave. She turns to speak to Wes. “Would you stay outside and watch over them?”
“Sure.” Wes agrees easily, patting the firearm hidden under the hem of his shirt. “I’m ready.”
“Excellent.” Natalie leaves them standing under the hot morning sun and trails behind Martin. “I’ll be right back.”

The barn is fairly crowded for a Monday morning. She knows the riding center has day camps and classes throughout the day. It’s a given that women and men alike will be wandering around the property, at least where they are permitted to venture. Natalie finds Louise and several of her assistants leading horses through the barn. “Lou! Good to see you!”

“Hey, Nat.” Lou grins, thrusting a pair of reins into her hands. “Take Liberty. Anything I should know about Blaine before we head out?”
“A few things. I know we haven’t had time to discuss this before hand much.” She starts, patting the spotted horses’ head as they leave the barn. “He’s nervous around strange women, he is very reluctant to express his opinions or desires to anyone except Kurt, and he will not say no to anyone who tells him to do something.”

“Sounds like a handful.” Lou shakes her head, sympathetic to Blaine’s situation, though she doesn’t know the reasons behind his issues. “So what’s the deal with Kurt? Usually, you’re a stickler about the clinic’s policy of not allowing visitors for the first six months of rehab.”
“Ah.” Natalie sighs, pulling her hat further down so it properly shades her long nose. “Well, I had to make an exception in Blaine’s case. Obviously I can’t tell you many details, but he needs Kurt’s support. I know for a fact that my patient would be a lot worse without his friend’s constant presence.”

The horses are lovingly marched outside. Blaine instantly wheels away from a young red headed assistant, frantically removes his Claddagh ring from his left hand, and pockets it. Natalie watches the scene and contemplates taking Blaine for a walk before they head onto the trails so he can calm down. The animals react to nervous people badly. Kurt saves her from making that decision. He gently takes the reins from the red head and hands them to Blaine.

“Blaine.” Kurt grabs Blaine’s hand and places it on the horse’s neck, effectively distracting him from the assistant. “Look at this horse. It sort of reminds me of Finn.”
Blaine chuckles faintly. “Yeah. It’s kind of does resemble him.”

“Her name is Lucille.” Lou remains standing beside Natalie. “She’s a Thoroughbred.”
“Aren’t they used for races?” Wes asks casually, running his hand over his Morgan horse affectionately. “Like the Kentucky Derby?”
“Yes.” Lou pats her Fell Pony. “Lucille used to be a race horse, but she was injured. Her old owners weren’t very good to her. She was starved and left on an abandoned property. Lucille was severely emaciated when animal control found her.”

“That’s terrible.” Kurt stares uncertainly at the brown Mustang ignoring his presence. “Who would do that to a helpless animal?”
“I don’t know.” Lou confesses, resting her head on Grover’s side. “Lucille came here so she could heal. One thing she likes is hugs.”
“Hugs?” Wes deadpans quietly.

“Yes, hugs.” Lou sends a withering glare his way. “Blaine, will you do me a favor, and wrap your arms around her like this?”

The blond woman demonstrates the motion for him, closes her eyes, and breathes with the horse. “Why don’t you try it?”
“Yes ma’am.” Blaine mumbles stiffly, though he complies and hugs the animal. “She feels warm.”
“If you’re quiet, really quiet.” Lou leads him through the familiar breathing techniques. “You can hear her heartbeat.”

Blaine closes his eyes and listens. Kurt watches him without comment, smiling brightly when he sees Blaine’s tense expression morph into quiet contentment. Natalie stays silent. Wes bats flies away from his horse. Martin lingers near the outside corral, thanking the assistants as they depart from their small group. Lou opens her eyes and winks at Natalie.

The grasshoppers buzz noisily, flying around them obnoxiously. Fresh mountain air turns Kurt’s cheeks pink. A river flows steadily nearby. Laughter and voices drift their way. Blaine is oblivious to the sounds, reverently hugging Lucille as he listens intently to her beating heart. Birds sing merrily in the tall, skinny Aspen trees. Dogs bark in the distance.

After thirty minutes have gone by, Lou finally disturbs his tranquility. “Blaine, would you like to ride her?”
Blaine’s eyes pop open, and he nods enthusiastically. “Yes!”

Natalie grins. It’s the first time her patient has shown such open emotion to anyone other than Kurt and herself. Blaine doesn’t even wait for instruction to get on the animal, scrambling haphazardly into the stirrup and swinging his leg over Lucille’s flank. “I’m ready.”
“Good.” Lou laughs. “Does anyone need help?”

“Kurt was a cheerleader.” Wes playfully pokes his friend’s arm. “I’m sure he could do a backflip off of Betamax over there.”
“I think Wes is the one that needs help, Dr. Fox.” Kurt leans over and says something quietly under his breath. “I think he’d like you to help him.”

Wes blushes, glares at Kurt, and hurriedly climbs onto his horse. Blaine beams as Kurt gracefully mounts Betamax. After a brief glance towards Natalie and Lou, he realizes they are watching him. Blaine stiffens again and carefully projects complete indifference. Natalie isn’t surprised. Her patient has lived in fear and under extremely strict rules for years on end. His fear of showing emotions is not going to disappear simply because he listened to a horse’s heart for a half an hour.

The trails are steep, well trodden, and clearly visible to the horses. Their group sets out a little after ten. Lou leads the pack, followed by Natalie, Blaine, Kurt, and Wes. The FBI Agent has promised Blaine that he’ll be on the look out for any signs of strangers or familiar faces. Blaine is afraid to be out here in the open where anyone can see him. It’s partly why she talked him into this.
The Boss isn’t the only person Blaine’s scared of. Michael Anderson haunts his son’s dreams. The men that took him away from Kurt are still looking for him, determined to drag him back to their many hiding places so they can take Blaine back to his employer. Her patient insists they are looking for him every time she tries to get him to leave the clinic. Women are just as dangerous as men in his eyes. Natalie can still feel his tension. It’s subsided slightly, now that they are on the trail and away from the crowd.

Comfortable silence falls over their group. Everyone seems more than happy to absorb the breathtaking mountain scenery. After an hour passes, the horses head for a meadow. Wildflowers sprawl as far as their eyes can see. Vibrant shades of red, blue, purple, yellow, and orange spread across the tall grass. They dismount. The horses cool off near the rapidly flowing river. Natalie and Lou bring out non perishable snacks from their packs.

Kurt and Blaine perch together on a large rock downstream. Apparently, Blaine wants to stay close to Lucille. Wes looks at them for a moment and then decides to join the two older women as they lounge lazily on an old Afghan blanket. Natalie wishes Kurt would come over to talk to her, but she knows he won’t. Wes eats raw sun flower seeds and nibbles on some potato chips.

“It’s good for you to come.” Natalie begins while Lou flips through a magazine. “I don’t think Blaine would have agreed to come today if you weren’t here.”
“It’s because of what happened.” Wes informs her, a thoughtful frown on his face. “When we were kids. Did Blaine tell you what happened at the Sadie Hawkin’s dance?”
“Yes.” She nods, popping a Starburst into her mouth. “He also told me that you were the one who found him.”
“I went with my girlfriend.” Wes begins, eyes softening as Kurt pulls Blaine into a hug. “I didn’t even go to that school, but she did. We were making out behind the gym when we heard the fight.”
“That’s quite a way to start a friendship.” She feels something stir in her heart, and quickly tries to squash her attraction to Wes. “Kurt told me that you never gave up on Blaine either, you just caught up with life.”
Wes grimaces. “I knew Blaine didn’t run away.”

“How?” She’s curious, because he had searched for Blaine nearly as long as Kurt had. “I can understand why so many people believed he ran away.”
“The day before he disappeared, he asked me if it was stupid to give your high school boyfriend an engagement ring.”

“He’s told me this story.” Natalie laughs. “And I can only imagine your reaction.”

“I told him that most high school relationships don’t last.” Wes admits. “But that I thought he could make it work with Kurt. You should have seen them together back then. They were inseparable. Blaine showed me those rings he bought. He gave them to Kurt the day he was taken. They really loved each other. They still do.”

“I’m sure Blaine is grateful that you kept trying to find him for so long.” She has the urge to kiss Wes, but fights it. “Kurt won’t really talk to me, not unless it involves Blaine’s recovery or a joint session. I think it may help both of them if he did.”

Wes scoffs. “Good luck with that. Did Kurt tell you about Dr. Waters?”
“No.” Natalie straightens her back, dying for more information. “Did he see a therapist before?”
“His dad made him go.” Wes explains, running a hand through his spiky hair. “Dr. Waters started cracking Kurt’s unshakable faith in Blaine.”
“Oh.” Now she completely understands Kurt’s reluctance to trust her. “What happened?”

“I didn’t really like talking to Kurt about my search.” He confesses softly. “Because I saw what the stress did to him. Kurt sort of stopped taking care of himself because he was so obsessed with finding Blaine. After a few weeks into his visits, he called me and said he understood why I had stopped looking. He didn’t know that I hadn’t stopped, I just didn’t want to involve him anymore. So Kurt starts putting his life back together. I didn’t blame him. I wanted him to be happy.”

“I take it things didn’t end well.” Natalie has seen how stubborn and determined Kurt can be first hand. “What changed his mind?”
“Luke Anderson.” Wes sighs. “Blaine’s older brother. Luke was in college when Blaine disappeared. From what I understand, Luke suspected someone in the family abducted Blaine.”

“You don’t like Luke, do you?” Natalie could hear the disapproval in his voice.
“Luke is a slacker.” Wes grunts. “He’s extremely smart. The kid aced his SATs. But he doesn’t put much effort into anything except video games, sex, and experimenting with drugs. He graduated school with a C average.”
“So you thought his suspicions were unreasonable?” She thinks it’s understandable. “What happened to make Kurt change his mind?”

Wes shoves some more seeds into his mouth. “He found Blaine’s cell phone under the bed. It was dead, and the account had been disconnected, but Luke took the time and effort to--uh--illegally---obtain his brother’s phone records, to see if there were any clues. The kid hits some dead ends, but is still suspicious that Blaine really didn’t run away. So instead of digging some more, he finds Kurt and pushes the phone records on him. So he could feel less guilty about not searching for his brother anymore.”

“And that upset you.” Natalie considers his story, wondering if Kurt had really stopped looking during this particular time in his life, or if he simply put on a convincing act for his father. “Do you really believe that Kurt stopped looking for Blaine?”

A loud, panicked shout disturbs their conversation. “Blaine!”
Natalie shifts her body sideways and frowns when she can’t see Blaine or his horse anymore. “What’s wrong?”

“Lucille ate through her reins!” Kurt is near tears and hysteria threatens to overwhelm him. “Blaine saw her walking towards the trees, and went to go get her. I was right behind them, but Lucille took off as soon as Blaine managed to mount her!”

Lou steps over to the reins, inspecting the chewed up part carefully. “She must have worked on these while she was being brushed. I wouldn’t worry too much, Kurt. I’m sure Blaine is fine. There’s a trail just around the bend over there that leads to our neighbor’s farm. The horses can smell the organic apple trees. It’s probably why Lucille headed in that direction. It won’t take us long to get there. About ten minutes or so.”

Kurt fixes his worried blue eyes on Natalie. “Dr. Fox, you know Blaine doesn’t handle surprises well. What if he gets hurt?”
“I know.” Natalie panics internally, but maintains a cool facade. “Lou, why don’t we head down there and check?”

“Sure.” Lou expertly mounts her horse, waiting for everyone else to do the same. “I’m sorry that Lucille decided to take off on Blaine.”

There’s a persistent, silent urge to hurry. Lou picks up speed as soon as her beloved horse finds the familiar trail. It’s very high and slightly harrowing. Natalie grips her reins tight, leaning forward so she doesn’t have to look at the ground. Heights have always made her a little nervous. Kurt’s knuckles are white from tension as he searches the woods for any signs of their missing man. Wes has a calm demeanor, something she suspects he’s perfected as an FBI agent.

Laughter catches all of their attention. Lou hollers as an older, grey haired gentleman tosses a hay barrel over the wooden fencing for his herd of spotted cows. “Warren!”

“Hey, Lou!” Warren smiles warmly, sticking his thumb at the nearby barn. “I take it you’re looking for that kid who wandered onto my property.”
“I’m sorry.” Natalie instantly apologizes, dismounting her horse. “I’m so sorry.”
“I figured he came from your place.” Warren shrugs, as if this is a regular occurrence. “My grand kids found him in the treehouse near the apple orchard, crying his eyes out.”

Kurt almost falls off of Betamax in his haste to get to Blaine. “Where is he?”

“I think he’s in the barn.” Warren jerks his thumb behind his shoulder and chuckles. “The kids decided he needed to help them with their chores.”
“What?” Kurt spins on his heels, taking off for the barn at a run. “Blaine!”
“I’ll go after him.” Natalie catches up to the panting young man, making him slow down by yanking on his arm. “Kurt, it’s okay.”

The brunette glares coldly at her. “You know he won’t tell them no!”
“I’m sure Blaine’s fine.” She isn’t phased by Kurt’s patented bitch face, as Blaine affectionately calls it. “You can’t save him from every surprise and unpredictable situation, Kurt.”

“I know that.” He snaps at her. “Dr. Fox, I carry around cookies, chips, and chocolate in my pockets because Blaine can’t even choose any food at all on his own without someone else’s approval. How do you think he’s going to handle this?”

She winces as they walk into the cool barn. Blaine might have a relapse because of this, and he may refuse to leave the clinic again. A warm summer breeze sways the pine trees near the large windows. Three young girls are holding newborn lambs in their laps. Blaine sits beside them, cuddling a small lamb against his chest, and gently feeds it a bottle of milk. Natalie sighs in relief, grateful he’s unharmed and preoccupied with the animal.

“Blaine.” Kurt’s worry seems to flood out of his body and he crosses the barn so he can sit in the hay. “What are you doing?”

Blaine looks up at him, dark eyes lighting up once he realizes Kurt is there. “I’m feeding him. His mom got sick, so her milk is bad. All three of these guys have to be bottle fed. Sloan, Sage, and Stella showed me how to feed him. Isn’t he cute?”

“He’s adorable.” Kurt agrees, smiling a little. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Blaine reassures him. “I mean, I got scared when Lucille stopped at the tree, so I hid, but the triplets heard me. They were playing Hide and Go Seek. Sage gave me some candy, then said I should help them with their chores. So I came with them and they showed me the lambs.”

Sage giggles and asks Kurt for his name. Seeing that the two young men will be occupied for a while, Natalie heads back outside. Laughter follows her. Lou tells her that it’s not the first time a horse has gone off trail, bringing one of her kids here. Warren is a helpful and kind man. He simply brushes off the intrusion. “It ain’t the first time it’s happened. Probably won’t be the last. Would you guys like to stay for lunch?”

Their meal is more of a buffet. Delight colors Blaine’s cheeks when he discovers home made apple pie, ice cream, and hot dogs. His plate is soon full of junk. The unhealthy food is not on his doctor’s nutritional list of approval, but Natalie figures what Dr. Hall doesn’t know can’t hurt him. The Boss had restricted Blaine to a very strict and low calorie diet for eight years.

Her patient ate only twelve hundred calories a day. The Boss never allowed him to have any treats, beat him if he asked for them or even admitted he wanted to eat anything other than what his employer liked. It had taken her two months before she could even get the boy to say he desired sweets.

Since Kurt likes to cook, she talked Dr. Hall into letting him control Blaine’s diet while they stayed at the clinic. Blaine had slowly accepted the change, though he would not eat anything on his own unless someone gave him permission. At first he had eaten whatever Kurt put in front of him without complaint. After nine weeks passed by, Blaine began to ask Kurt if he could have something sweet for dinner every now and then. Dr. Hall agreed to the request, though he suggested they start small and slow. Blaine had been malnourished for so long, his body needed time to restore its natural health.

When lunch is finished, the girls drag Blaine and Kurt away to their rooms before Natalie can tell them they should head back to the ranch. It’s a losing battle. Sage begs her grandparents to let them stay the night. Apparently, Kurt is going to teach them how to properly dress their dolls so the girls don’t commit any more crimes against fashion. Blaine is going to teach Stella how to play the piano. At least, he’s going to get her started. Warren’s wife, Sally, brings out her banjo and has an impromptu jam session with Blaine.

Natalie pulls Blaine aside, studying his flushed face. “Blaine, would you like to stay here tonight?”
Blaine hesitates. “I think so. You’ll stay with us, right?”
“Yes.” She smiles. “And I’m sure Wes will as well. Is it all right if I send Martin home?”

“Yeah.” Blaine agrees. “Stella said her grandpa has a shotgun. I’m pretty sure he’s got good aim.”

It’s a miracle he’s wanting to stay. Sloan calls for Blaine, runs over to them, and grabs his hand. “Blaine! You have to see my pig. I’m going to sell him at the fair next month!”