It had been a night of revelations, of confessions and consequences. What Blaine had hidden away deep in his memories had resurfaced its ugly head and now he was sitting, forlorn and alone, in a dining room with his parents.

Blaine wanted the floor to open and swallow him. This was not a new feeling, he'd had it on and off for most of his life, but it was most unwelcome right now. Blaine had been on his way to Kurt's house, intending to stay the night if Burt agreed – which he always did for as long as Blaine could remember. He took a moment to thank the powers that be for giving him Kurt and the whole Hummel family.

He wished he was at Kurt's house tonight. Luck would have it that just as Blaine was getting ready to walk out the door on his way to dinner with Kurt and Mr. Hummel, his father and mother walked in his own front door.

"Blaine," his mother said, a vague smile on her mouth. His father nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Mom, Dad, I wasn't expecting you, it's so good to see you," he said with little emotion.

"We canceled the trip...well, we rearranged the jaunt to Toronto to be with you tonight, so if you could have a seat in the dining room at the table, Blaine."

"Of course, sir, " Blaine answered, turning and walking to the chair to seat himself. His father and mother sat across from him.

"Blaine, we heard a rumor, and we want you to tell us if it's valid," his mother said.

"You do? What rumor?" Blaine asked.

"That you were somehow involved with this sexual assault case against your brother's former girlfriend," Mr. Anderson said, looking away.

"That was two years ago. Why bring it up now?" Blaine asked. He had never told his parents anything about the case. Burt Hummel had accompanied him to the courtroom each day he was required to be there. Since he was a minor, the newspapers were not allowed to use his name and all police records and his testimony were sealed. Unless Cooper had told them? But no, Blaine was sure he would never do that.

"One of my business contacts mentioned it. We didn't know you testified. His son was involved as a witness and saw you in the courthouse. Why are we just learning about this now, Blaine?" his mother asked.

"I had to testify. She was here in the house all the time, they wanted to know things like where she was on certain dates. That wasn't anything to tell. I had no reason to talk it over with you," Blaine said.

"Surely you might have mentioned it to us? This kid said you were very upset," Mr. Anderson said.

"Well, it was an upsetting thing, don't you think? I mean, she was in this house all the time," Blaine dodged the question. He wished Cooper was there to help him out. Blaine took a deep breath, he could get through this.

"Yes, I suppose it was. Okay, then. If that was all there was to it," his father concluded.

"Blaine, what are your plans for this summer? Vacation starts in a few weeks. We have arranged to stay home for a larger part of the summer this year," Mrs. Anderson said.

This sounded a bit suspicious to Blaine.

"Why?"

"What do you mean? We need to spend time with you, Blaine. Your father has a project for you," his mother said, looking at her husband.

"A project? But I was going to get a job. The animal shelter is hiring dog walkers for this summer," Blaine said, dismayed that he might have to do some lame project with his father. They had been gone half his life, why the sudden change?

"Son, I bought an old 1955 Chevy that needs to be restored. My father helped me restore a 1923 LaSalle one summer and I think that you would enjoy it as much as I did. I will have weekends free, so I think we can get it running by fall," his father actually smiled. "It's out in the driveway now..come look it over."

Blaine was a bit shocked to say the least. He had never done a 'project' with his father, and couldn't imagine how uncomfortable this was going to be. He stood up and followed his Father outside.

"Isn't it a beauty?" Mr. Anderson said and Blaine could only nod. It just looked like a pile of rusty metal ready for the junkyard. He could not imagine having to get dirty working on this car.

"Dad, I have an appointment, I'm due at the Hummel house for supper in an hour. I don't want to be rude to them, so I have to catch my bus. Can we talk about this later?"

"You aren't going to be home for supper?" he asked his son, disappointed that he hadn't gotten a more enthusiastic response.

"No, sir. I didn't know you and Mom were coming home today," he told his dad.

"Of course. I'll give you a lift. I expect you'll be home later this evening?"

"Ah...no, sir. When I go for supper I usually stay the night. Buses don't run late enough for me to catch one home. I'll be home in the morning," Blaine said.

"All right this time, but we expect you home early tomorrow morning and then we can begin work on the Chevy. Let me get my car keys and tell your mom I'm taking you," Mr. Anderson said and walked back in the house.

~KBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKBKB~

"And then he takes me out to the driveway and there's this huge chunk of rusty car parts that he tells me is a '55 Chevy and we're going to restore it!" Blaine whined, telling Kurt what had happened at his house earlier in the day.

"At least he finally wants to spend some time with you," Kurt tried to console his friend. They were sitting on the chaise lounge on Kurt's patio after supper. Blaine had been quiet and withdrawn all evening and Kurt had finally gotten him to spill what was wrong.

"Too little, too late if you ask me," Blaine said bitterly. Kurt took his hand and laced their fingers together.

"You didn't seem to mind working in my dad's shop, this won't be so awful, will it?" Kurt asked.

"I like working for your dad because you're there, not because I have some urge to get my fingernails filthy changing tires," Blaine mumbled and Kurt's heart skipped a beat.

Kurt tried to analyze what was going on. For as long as he could remember since he was eight, Blaine had been a part of his life, and for the past several years he had been a part of almost every day of his life. Blaine practically lived at the Hummel house. He went to stay with Cooper every once in a while, but Coop came to visit the Hummels almost as much as Blaine did. To Kurt, Cooper and Blaine were like brothers to him. Well, up to a point.

It was hard to pinpoint when exactly Kurt had fallen in love with Blaine. Sometimes it seemed like it started the first day they met in the theater class when they were eight years old. Back then it was more like loving Blaine as a brother, wanting his companionship. Over the years it evolved into a different kind of love. Now Kurt daydreamed about holding Blaine's hand. Of course he held Blaine's hand all the time, but this was different. He wanted to hold Blaine's hand and have it mean something extra, something romantic.

It had gotten worse this past year. Yes, they had both started feeling more things...down there. They often woke up with morning erections when they slept in the same bed, but it was just something they ignored, each choosing to turn the other way or get up and go to the bathroom. It had been about nine months now that Kurt had found himself alone at night, thinking of Blaine. Thinking of kissing those plump, dark pink lips or running his hands down Blaine's chest and not stopping when he reached his waistband.

They had seen each other naked, starting with the first time Blaine had spent the night when they were eight and thought nothing of it. But now Kurt changed his clothes in the bathroom so Blaine wouldn't see him staring, practically drooling over Blaine's body. Kurt daydreamed about touching Blaine all the time, to the point he was beginning to think he was going just a bit crazy. He could never mention all of this to Blaine, however. He couldn't risk ruining what they had now, which was comfortable and safe. No, Blaine might not want to be friends if he knew what Kurt thought about when he looked at Blaine's bare chest when they went swimming.

Kurt blinked his eyes. He'd have to be more careful about daydreaming, one day he'd let something slide by him and it would ruin their friendship.

"Hey, where did you go?" Blaine asked, looking at Kurt in a funny way.

"Oh...sorry, I just wandered off in my head. Back to the summer. I guess you're stuck with doing this with your dad. It won't stop us from being together, just not on the weekends. We'll still have all week together. Besides, we were going to get jobs at the humane society, right? We'll see each other all the time then," Kurt tried to smile. He needed Blaine with him like he needed air to breathe or water to drink. Kurt risked looking at Blaine's face, wondering what he was thinking. He was different lately, but Kurt couldn't pin down what exactly was going on in his head.

"Is everything okay, Blaine?" Kurt asked. Blaine startled out of a trance.

"Ah...yeah, sure."

"Yeah sure, what? Did you even hear what I said?" Kurt asked, convinced Blaine was not listening.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. I guess my mind was off wandering, too. What did you ask me?"

"I asked if something was wrong. I get the feeling you're upset, but more than I think you would be just because of your dad. Did I say something to upset you?" Kurt asked.

Blaine shook his head 'no', but didn't trust himself to speak. He was on the verge of tears but didn't want Kurt to know because then he would get it out of him and Blaine did not want to discuss it. Ever since his parents had mentioned Jenn, he'd been feeling bad. He had tried for two years to stuff those feelings inside where they would never show again. He reprimanded himself, asking why he was still so upset over one blowjob just because it was not consensual. He really had no idea how to cope with this. He was fourteen, for god's sake, high time he manned up and stopped letting stupid things in the past affect him so much.

The worst thing was that he was beginning to think it did affect him. He knew it was time for him to be interested in girls, but he just wasn't. He liked specific girls, he thought they were nice and smelled good and looked pretty. He liked Rachel a lot, and Mercedes and Tina. But to ask to the school dance? No. He didn't want to dance with them or kiss them. There was something very wrong inside of him, and he could not let Kurt know. If he lost Kurt, he knew life would not be worth living. So he just pretended that he didn't love being so close to Kurt, or cuddling up to him on the sofa when they watched movies. When he stayed the night, he would sleep in the same bed with Kurt, they had been doing that for years, but neither of them suggested they change. He would wait for Kurt to fall asleep, then snuggle up close and pretend it was Kurt's idea to hug him. He'd feign sleep and yawn, his arm 'accidentally' falling over Kurt's waist as they lay together. So far Kurt never seemed to notice and Blaine lived in fear of the day he did.

"Blaine!" Kurt said loudly, his hand warm on Blaine's arm.

Blaine jumped, his mind lost in thought once again.

"Hey, Kurt? Can you..ah...oh, never mind."

"No, what is it Blaine. You're really not yourself this evening, what can I do to help?" Kurt said, getting concerned.

"Ah..don't ask me why, because I just don't want to talk about what my parents said...but...can you just hug me for a few minutes?" Blaine looked away, afraid of seeing rejection in his friend's eyes.

Kurt didn't say a thing, he just held out his arms and Blaine melted into them, his ear over Kurt's heart and listened to the steady beat. He imagined for a selfish moment that Kurt's heart was beating just for him. He didn't cry, he was able to stuff that back inside, his muscles were tense and Kurt held him tighter, rubbing his back in an attempt to get him to relax. Blaine tried taking deep breaths, but it wasn't helping at all. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that Kurt was holding him because he was in love with him. Of course Kurt loved him, Blaine knew that – but he was not "in love" with him. He genuinely tried to calm himself down. He waited for Kurt to loosen his grip or to push him away, but it didn't happen.

"It's okay, Blaine. I'll hold you for as long as you want me to. For you, I will hold on forever, you're my best friend," Kurt whispered in Blaine's ear as he carded his fingers through the loose curls, calming his friend. He was getting very worried, Blaine wasn't one to do this, he wasn't the needy sort of person -he was the one that comforted everyone else. It must have been something awful his parents said, and Kurt could think of any number of things it could have been.

"Thank god for you, Kurt. Thank god I have you," Blaine said, not even realizing he was saying it out loud. He clung to Kurt like a drowning man would a lifeguard. Kurt went on holding his friend, rubbing his back or playing with his hair. He leaned forward and kissed the top of Blaine's head before he could catch himself, then wondered if Blaine had even noticed in his misery.

Blaine did notice, and his stomach was doing a swooping kind of loop. Kurt had kissed him? What? Of course, he was just trying to comfort him. That explained it. What kind of friend would he be to take advantage of Kurt's kindness. He willed his body not to react. He knew he had to let go or Kurt would get uncomfortable, but it was so nice to feel Kurt's warm body so close to his own. He would stay just a few more seconds...

Kurt felt Blaine tense for a second when he kissed his head, then relax. He wondered if it had made Blaine feel uncomfortable. He should let go, stop rubbing his back, stop carding through his silky hair. He would, Blaine would get suspicious if Kurt kept it up. Speaking of 'up', Kurt was a bit worried Blaine might notice that, too. In spite of the circumstances, his cock was half-hard with being so close to Blaine. He could hear his breath hitch with his attempts to keep the tears at bay, he could smell Blaine's shampoo, his cologne that Kurt had gotten him for Christmas last year, and maybe a bit of something -- not stale sweat, this was more like he was nervous and just started sweating. It didn't matter, Kurt loved Blaine's scent. He loved falling asleep in the front seat of his dad's truck, leaning on Blaine after a day of hard work at the shop and smelling that scent that meant Blaine had worked hard, too.

They eventually relaxed enough to let their arms fall from the tight hug, but remained close together, watching the sun set behind the trees at the back of the yard. They still sat there as the darkness came, bats coming out and snatching insects in the sky. A neighborhood cat came over the fence, watching as something crawled along the far fence. He pounced and ran under the back fence. Kurt and Blaine both giggled and put their heads together, squeezing their hands together.

Kurt smiled at Blaine and thought maybe he could sing to him. That had worked in the past to calm him down.

Did you ever know that you're my hero,
and everything I would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

It might have appeared to go unnoticed,
but I've got it all here in my heart.
I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.
I would be nothing without you.

Did you ever know that you're my hero?
You're everything I wish I could be.
I could fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Blaine smiled at Kurt. He loved that song and Kurt could sing like an angel. He squeezed his hand and Kurt squeezed back. Blaine sang along.

Inside, Burt was sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar and looking out the back window. He'd come into the kitchen to shout out the back door that a game was on the television and did Blaine want to come watch it with him. He glanced out the back window and what he saw made him stop. He didn't mean to snoop, the boys deserved privacy as much as anyone, but Blaine's peculiar actions this whole afternoon had been unsettling. Burt could tell something was up, but he didn't know what that might be. Seeing the two sitting in the chaise lounge wasn't anything to get worried about, they often sat together and held hands, had been doing that since they were eight.

Burt knew that most boys stopped doing things like that when they were younger than fourteen, but Blaine tended to be insecure and Kurt had a maternal instinct that showed itself in ways like that. But tonight, it was different somehow.

Watching the boys, he first noticed neither one was paying attention to the other. One would speak, then have to get the other's attention. Then Blaine got upset and was blinking back tears, speaking to Kurt in a hesitant way. That was different – those two boys spoke to each other about everything under the sun with no reservation. Something must be wrong, badly wrong for Blaine to act like this.

He must have asked Kurt something because Burt saw his son wrap Blaine in a tight hug, no letting go. He could see Kurt rubbing his back and running his fingers through his friend's hair over and over. When he saw Kurt kiss Blaine's head and then the look of "what did I just do?" on Kurt's face matched exactly the look on Blaine's face..Burt was pretty sure what was happening, but he could clearly see that neither boy was aware of it in the other.

His son was falling in love with Blaine. And Blaine was falling in love with Kurt. And neither of them had a clue. Oh, youth could be so cruel. If he told them, it was likely to screw it all up completely, so all Burt could do was to perhaps gently nudge one or the other into thinking more about it and finding out on their own what was really going on.

He saw them finally break apart after about forty-five minutes, but they were still holding hands. He decided not to go out there and tease them, they had enough problems without embarrassing them, too. Burt briefly wondered if Kurt would come out to him or if Kurt assumed he already knew. Well, life had a way of taking care of things like that. Burt could be patient.

"The mosquitoes are out, I guess we better get back inside. Are you sure you're okay, Blaine?" Kurt asked, still worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Kurt. I just needed a hug, that's all. I'll be fine. Let's go to bed and get lost in a movie, okay?" Blaine suggested, even though he would love to just lay there and hold Kurt's hand for the rest of his life.

"Okay, I'm really kind of tired," Kurt replied, letting go of Blaine's hand reluctantly.

They walked back in the house, surprised to find that Burt had already gone upstairs to bed. Kurt thought about calling up to say goodnight, but he didn't want to wake his dad up if he was sleeping. He hadn't acted like he felt well lately and Kurt thought he might need some sleep.

After getting into their pajamas, Kurt set the laptop at the end of the bed and left the choice of movie up to Blaine. He waited for Blaine to come out of the bathroom and went in to brush his teeth.

Coming back out, he found Blaine in bed, some old movie playing on the laptop.

"What do we have tonight?" Kurt asked.

"The Wolf Man. Original with Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains, that's the best one," Blaine grinned.

"Maybe the best movie, but Teen Wolf is my favorite for television shows. Derek and Stiles? Wow. And Scott! By far the best thing on TV since Firefly," Kurt said. He grinned back at Blaine. He was well known for loving Teen Wolf and they watched it together every Thursday.

They settled in bed, Blaine holding the covers up for Kurt to climb in next to him. Kurt turned to see that Blaine had brought them each a dish of ice cream and they sat and ate that and watched the movie not even halfway through, both boys had finished their ice cream and fallen asleep, cuddled close together.

Later in the night, Blaine had woken up. He was having a bad dream or something and woke up to find himself with his arms around Kurt. That was probably not the wisest idea, he'd woken up last week in the same position, but so hard it hurt and was so embarrassed he had to go relieve himself in the bathroom. When he came back out, Kurt was still asleep and Blaine went upstairs to fix breakfast. It had been very unsettling and he didn't want a repeat of that. So, he moved to the other side of the bed, tried to ignore Kurt as he whined in his sleep, Kurt's hand searching for him. He finally fell back asleep.

Near two in the morning, Kurt was jolted awake. Blaine was not just whimpering in his sleep, it sounded like he was begging someone to leave him alone. He twitched and scratched at his wrists, crying almost. Kurt hadn't seen him like this since the days after he was molested by Jenn. Oh...things were beginning to add up. Blaine's moody demeanor at dinner, his jumping at every sound all evening, the breakdown as they were sitting together in the chaise lounge. Even Blaine asking for a hug, then holding Kurt like he was afraid he'd be torn away from him at any moment...Kurt didn't know for sure, but he'd bet the farm that Blaine's folks had mentioned Jenn. No wonder Blaine was upset.

"Hey, buddy, I'm here. I'll keep you safe." Kurt said. He found promising to keep him safe was what calmed Blaine down when he was having those nightmares a few years ago. He didn't want to wake him up abruptly, that scared him even more. Gently, Kurt put his arms around Blaine, pulling his back up against his own chest. Speaking very softly, Kurt told Blaine that he was safe now, that he would hold him and nobody would hurt him. Blaine shuddered in Kurt's arms, but the trembling was stopping. He continued to whimper for a while and Kurt once again carded his fingers through Blaine's hair in a gentle motion. It took a while, but eventually Blaine slid back into a deep sleep, no longer troubled by the ghosts that haunted him. Kurt wiped the tears from his eyes and closed them, falling back asleep with his arms around his best friend.

At the door, Burt wiped a few of his own tears. He didn't want to intrude when he could clearly see that Kurt was the best thing for Blaine at this moment. He thought about how to go from here, but just the thought of talking to Blaine's parents – or Cooper for that matter – weren't the right thing to do. Walking back up the stairs to his bedroom, Burt thought of what he needed to do and finally resolved to do it tomorrow after sending Kurt on some errand.

"Okay, boys, I want the two of you to help me at the garage this morning," Burt said as he spooned another helping of scrambled eggs onto his plate.

"Sure, Dad," Kurt said.

"I'd be happy to help, Mr. Hummel," Blaine said. He would much rather work for Burt than go home to his parents.

An hour into the day, Burt watched the boys doing inventory and called Kurt over to him.

"Hey, kiddo, I need you to take this carburetor over to Harold's garage over on Lakewood Drive. It's only a dozen blocks or so, do you think you can do that?" Burt asked. "Then pick up some lunch at that salad place you like on the way back." Burt handed his son some money. "Thanks, kid."

With Kurt gone for what would be more than an hour, Burt called Blaine into his office.

"Yeah, Mr. Hummel? I got the tires on the back wall counted and the sizes recorded in the notebook like you asked. Do you have something else for me to do?" He asked cheerfully.

"Not right now. I want you to sit down here, son. I need to talk to you," Burt said, indicating the other office chair.

Blaine looked a little scared.

"You're not in trouble with me, Blaine, but I am concerned. Do you want to tell me what's been going on with you the past two days? I've never seen you so jumpy and nervous."

"I will try to keep it to myself, Mr. Hummel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to let it show so much," Blaine hung his head. He didn't mean to let Burt know anything was amiss, he didn't want to be a burden. It seemed that was all he had ever been.

"Blaine, please don't make me tell you one more time that I care about you. That you are as close as a son to me and what you think and feel is important to me – as important to me as Kurt is. You do know that, right?" Burt asked.

"Yes, I do," Blaine answered. It wasn't fair. Blaine was not the kind of kid that cried at everything – but all he seemed to want to do lately was cry. Now here he was, blinking back tears once more as he sat looking at Burt's royal blue eyes that were looking back at him.

"I know something your parents said upset you yesterday. I think maybe if you told someone and didn't have to carry that burden alone, you would feel better. Did you tell Kurt?" Burt asked.

"No. I didn't want to upset him," Blaine confessed.

"Well, both Kurt and I knew when something's wrong and we both are concerned for you. So, how about you tell me what it is. It's not going away by itself, is it?"

"No, sir. My parents heard that I testified at Jenn's trial. They assumed I had something to do with it. I told them it was because I lived in the house. I know that while that is not exactly a lie, it amounts to the same thing but I did not want to talk to them about something that happened a long time ago when they couldn't even bother to call and check on me.

"That, and when they mentioned her, all those bad feelings came back. I kept thinking about it, I was sick to my stomach over it again. When is it going to leave me alone?" Blaine burst out, the tears he'd been holding for two days running down his cheeks. It was okay to allow himself this with Burt. Burt had been there for him, had taken him to the judge's chambers and sat with him while he testified. Burt knew what happened but didn't make Blaine feel bad about it.

"Is it just the memories, Blaine? I can understand that. It could happen to anyone in your situation. But I want you to think, is there something else that's bothering you, because you seem a lot more emotional about it now than you did when it happened," Burt tried to sympathize with Blaine, tried to get him to talk. He knew from experience that drawing Blaine into a conversation where he could bare his soul was cleansing for him. It just took a little extra effort.

"No, it isn't just the memories, but you have to swear to me you won't tell Kurt. He would think differently about me if he knew." Blaine looked genuinely scared and Burt wanted to hug him. Not time for that, yet.

"Tell me what's going on in your head, Blaine. Do you want me to get you a therapist? I can do that if you want."

"No. I don't think they can fix this. When Jenn .....ah....when she did that to me, I think it broke what was inside me," Blaine said, not knowing how to tell Burt this awful thing. Would he stop Blaine from seeing Kurt? He hoped not.

"Broke what? I took you to the doctor, Blaine. They did all the blood tests, you were clean of all of them."

"No, that's not what I mean. This year we had a few dances at school. I wanted to go, but I was afraid to ask anyone I liked...in that way. I mean, when Jenn did that, I think she made me not like girls anymore. I have some girls as friends: Mercedes, Tina, Rachel...but I don't want to take them out."

Burt just looked at Blaine. Was he trying to say what Burt was thinking he was saying?

Blaine sighed. "I don't know any other way to put it. I think what happened to me was so traumatic that it made me turn gay. It made me so scared of girls, now I only like boys like that...but I'm scared to say anything to anybody. If my parents find out? I don't know what to do. Or if Kurt finds out? Remembered you promised that you would never tell him! If he found out he might still try to be my friend, but it would come between us and I couldn't stand it if Kurt stopped loving....ah...if he stopped liking me as a friend. It would break my heart. So, don't tell him, please."

"Blaine, this incident, this thing that happened to you was bad. Sexual assault on a child is probably the worst crime ever. But the ones that suffer for the crime, the victims, suffer more than any crime I can imagine. No matter how bad the crime was, I can assure you it had nothing to do with your sexual orientation. If you are gay, you were born that way, son. Nothing wrong with it. Like being born with dark curls instead of straight blond hair. You don't get to choose your true self, Blaine. If you're gay now it's because you were born that way and no amount of trauma will change that. It's natural, Blaine, and I don't want you to forget that. Okay?" Burt said, wishing with all his heart that he could tell Kurt or that he could tell Kurt about Blaine. They would be so happy together and knowing.

But life isn't fair and Burt had made a promise to Blaine not to tell Kurt; he had no intentions of outing Kurt to anyone when the kid hadn't even told him that yet. This was a dilemma, but Burt's hands were tied. He couldn't help either of his boys - and the answers were right in front of their eyes.

"Blaine, are you feeling any better? You don't have to tell anyone about being gay, but I want you to understand that there is no shame in it. There is nothing wrong with it, no matter what you might hear or see on the television or anywhere. You are a beautiful, intelligent boy and I would be proud to call you my son. If you have worries like this, Blaine, please come to me. I think you know you can trust that anything we say to each other in confidence will stay that way, right?"

"Yes. Thank you, Mr. Hummel." Blaine sat for a few minutes, trying to dry his eyes. He felt relieved that he wasn't as screwed up in his head as he thought he was, but the pressures were still there. He still had to spend unending hours with his father this summer. At least it was just on the weekends, he'd be free to spend the rest of the week at the Hummel's house. He was still in love with his best friend, but there was no way to deal with that...and Blaine knew that Burt might be understanding and supportive, but if he found out Blaine was lusting after his son, things were bound to change. So, in spite of having a boulder removed from his shoulders, there was still a whole mountain there crushing him.

Burt looked at Blaine, wondering how many things the boy was still hiding. He could see he was still upset, that the tears had only begun. He thought about what he had seen last night, how compassionate his son was when it came to Blaine and he was so proud of Kurt. He could only try to be as kind and thoughtful to this amazing boy.

Burt held out his arms and Blaine looked at them, as if he could not believe it could happen. He sat for a minute, but Burt's arms were still open to him and he fell into them. Burt pulled the boy up on his lap and just sat and held him while he cried his heart out. It was so good to have someone that genuinely cared about him, it was amazing. Burt had been there for him for years, why had he just realized now that Burt was the father he had always thought his own father might be if he just tried a little harder to please him, if he got better grades, if he was as good as Cooper...but it never happened. Blaine had been trying for fourteen years to turn himself inside out to be what his father could love, but he always missed the mark. Now he realized that he never had to try to be anything and Burt loved him, as much as he loved Kurt. It was a revelation.

Kurt walked into the garage through the back door. He was surprised to see the 'CLOSED" sign up in the window in front and wondered what was wrong. His dad never closed on a Saturday before five o'clock. He saw a light on in the office and walked to the door, looking around the corner. There was his dad, in the rickety old office chair, Blaine curled on his lap sound asleep, his arms around his dad's neck.

"Is he okay?" Kurt whispered.

"Yeah, Kurt, I think he's going to be now," Burt smiled at Kurt. "Can you clear off the sofa, then sit at that end and I'll give him to you. My arm's been asleep for half and hour."

Kurt cleared the magazines off the sofa and sat down, Burt lifted Blaine over and put his head on Kurt's lap. He shook out the old knitted blanket and covered the sleeping boy.

"I'll just close up, Kurt, and we can wake him up then to go home." Burt went back in the garage, swept the floor and locked up. He couldn't remember being this tired. Raising boys was hard work. He hoped Blaine would grow up to be a good man. He would do his best to make sure it happened. He finally finished and went back to the office to check on the boys. Kurt was sitting when he was before, a sweet smile gracing his angelic face, his eyes sparkling as he looked at a sleeping Blaine. His fingers combed through the silky curls and Burt could see the love Kurt had for this boy. He wished once again that he could set this all right. He would just have to wait for divine providence to work. Or for the boys to wake up and smell the coffee. Burt smirked at that, imagine these two drinking coffee.

"Oh, Dad. Are we ready?" Kurt asked, noticing his dad was standing there.

"Yeah. Let's wake him up and get home."