Friday night dinners had always been a family tradition in the Hummel household, for as long as I could remember. My Mom had started them, and my Dad had continued with it after she died as a way to keep some familiarity in my life... and now that Carole and Finn were a part of our family too, they were something that we continued with, as a way to bring the whole family together once a week for some quality time.

My Dad had only been married to Carole for two months, but we'd already fallen into a comfortable routine in our family life. Our Friday night dinners were all very much the same... Finn and my Dad would take up their usual positions in the Den, occasionally shouting at the television as they watched Football, while Carole and I worked in the kitchen to prepare what were rapidly becoming increasingly more exotic meals for the family. We both loved to cook, and we worked well together, and I have to admit, I simply loved spending a little time with my new 'mom'... or 'S'mom' as I had affectionately nicknamed her. She was warm and caring, and so kind hearted, and I just adored her. As far as I was concerned, my Dad couldn't have found a more perfect woman to share his life with.

We'd only just sat down at the dinner table to eat when the doorbell rang. I groaned, staring down at my plate. Visitors during dinnertime really irked me, I hadn't cut my shopping date short with Blaine so that I could spend 3 hours in the kitchen just so that I would have to eat my dinner cold. Finn grinned at my irritation, and bounced to his feet to get the door. I grumbled to myself, then cut a small portion of my Dukkah encrusted pesto chicken and placed it in my mouth. I didn't care that it was rude... it was ruder for someone to interrupt our meal.

But when Finn screamed my name from the entrance hall I dropped my cutlery to my plate in a heartbeat, and raced my Dad and Carole to the door. I'd never heard him so panicked... such alarm and concern in his voice, and as I rounded the corner I could see why. I stopped dead in my tracks, momentarily too shocked to move, until I felt my Dad push past me as he ran to the door.

It was Blaine, and he was covered in blood. He was almost doubled over as he clutched his arm to his chest, and when he looked up at me I could see that his nose was clearly broken, one eye was completely swollen shut, and a large gash had split his lip almost down to his chin, which I assumed was the source of all the blood. I heard Carole scream in shock when she saw him, and i'm pretty sure I heard her say the word 'ambulance' as she ran back out of the room.

"Blaine? Oh My... " I ran to his side, wanting desperately to comfort him, but not sure where it would be safe to touch him without hurting him further. He didn't seem to care though, his good arm came up and around my body, holding me close as if I were a lifeline. I heard him draw a jagged breath, then he doubled over again, coughing up blood, but refusing to relent his hold on me.

"Jesus Blaine, what happened" growled my Dad, as he tried to guide Blaine to the nearest chair. "Who did this to you?"

Blaine sank into the chair with an audible grimace of pain, and leaned back, closing his eyes. It was then that I saw the blood seeping through his shirt. I knelt at his side and lifted the material away to reveal the source of the blood, and my head swam in shock when I saw the two, inch long stab wounds in his belly.

I'm sure I was actually in shock by then, but somehow I still remember every single detail of what happened that night. Every single, painstaking detail... as if it were happening in slow motion.

Carole came back into the room, clutching the phone, and announced that the ambulance was on it's way. She handed me a fluffy white towel, and I immediately pressed it to Blaine's stomach to try to slow the bleeding. I could hear my Dad talking to Blaine, asking him questions, but Blaine wasn't answering. I thought he had passed out, but when Carole pressed a cold cloth to his face he hissed in pain, and tried to pull away. It absolutely broke my heart to see him like this.

I couldn't understand how this could have happened. I'd been with him only a few hours ago... we'd spent the day together at the mall, simply enjoying being able to spend more time together now that we had finished school for the summer, and when he walked me to my car just before 3 o'clock, he was fine. He'd kissed me goodbye, pressing me up against the side of my car in such a delicious public display of affection that he'd made me breathless... then he'd caressed my cheek, told me he'd call me tonight, and waved as I drove away. So what the hell had happened between then and now to cause this? I felt physically sick.

It wasn't until I felt my Dad's gentle finger touch my cheek that I realised I was crying... well, more sobbing, really. He looked so concerned, so scared...

"It'll be okay, Kurt. Blaine will be alright, okay? The ambulance will be here soon. He'll be fine." My Dad was panicked, and to be honest I wasn't sure who he was trying to convince with his words... me, or himself. I knew in that instance, that his thoughts about the cause of this were the same as mine. This was what my Dad feared, every single day, would happen to me. This had to have been a sick, twisted hate crime. Blaine had been bashed for being gay.

"Blaine... can you hear me?" My voice was thick, heavy with tears. I got no response. "Blaine" I said with more urgency, gripping his good arm and shaking him a little. He groaned. "Please Blaine, stay with me, okay. The ambulance is coming. You're going to be fine. I won't leave your side, I promise... just stay with me." He groaned again, and leaned in closer to me, pressing his blood stained cheek against my shoulder... and then he passed out cold.

Finn ran outside when we heard the sirens approaching, to guide the medics into the room, but then disappeared again.

My Dad quickly ran through what we thought must have happened to the paramedics, and pointed out Blaine's obvious injuries to them. They carefully fitted him with a spinal collar, and moved him to the guerney on the floor. I was distracted by Finn's reappearance in the doorway, he held Blaine's car keys in his hand, his face shocked and amazed as he dangled them in the air in front of him for us to see. He looked from my Dad and I, to his Mom, and back again, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Blaine's car is in our driveway. It's got the word 'fag' scratched into the paint work, and there's blood all over the seats, the hood is dented and the back window is smashed. He must have driven himself here..." he pointed to my boyfriend on the floor with the paramedics hovering over him, "after they did this to him."

I shook my head in disbelief. Blaine couldn't even walk, I couldn't imagine for a moment how he had found the strength, or the focus, to drive. I watched closely as the two men worked over Blaine, mumbling numbers to each other as they monitored his vital signs, fitting him with an oxygen mask, slipping a thin needle in under his skin to give him a shot of something. This was all so surreal. I shook my head to clear it, but couldn't tear my eyes away from the horrible scene before me.

"His parents" My Dad said suddenly, searching the room quickly for where Carole had laid the phone. "I've gotta call his parents and let them know..."

"No Dad." I said quickly... and too loudly. My Dad stopped, and turned to look at me suspiciously. Damn it, I had wanted to avoid this conversation, Blaine had specifically asked me not to tell anyone, not even my Dad... but I couldn't keep it from him now, he would have to know. "You can't. They..." I shot a desperate look at Blaine's unconscious form, hoping that he would forgive me for betraying his confidence. "They disowned him, Dad. He's boarding at Dalton now, permanently, because they kicked him out of home when he..." I sighed heavily, and looked back up to meet my Dad's eyes. "When he told them about his relationship with me."

My Dad gasped in shocked anger, then stared at Blaine... pity filling his eyes. Dad knew that Blaine's father hadn't exactly been accepting of him being gay, but we had never told him just how bad things had been for Blaine at home, since he had officially 'come out'. When he took me home to meet his parents, only a few days after our first kiss, he was hoping that they would finally see how happy he was and accept him for who he was, but they both shut him out of their lives completely.

"They said they would pay for his tuition and board at Dalton, because it was their duty as parents to see that he was properly educated, but as far as they were concerned, he was an embarrassment to his family, and they no longer wanted to call him their son. They've even forbidden him from having contact with his brother, and little sisters, because he might be a bad influence on them. They won't care about this, Dad. They'll probably think he just got what he deserved."

My Dad just stared at me, and started to slowly shake his head in disbelief. "He's still only a kid." His voice was a shaky whisper. "Who is his legal guardian, then?"

I gave him a tight smile. "He is. He's now legally emancipated."

The elder of the two paramedics turned to face me, as the younger guy continued to secure Blaine to the guerney. "This complicates things. The hospital will need someone to sign as an acting guardian," My Dad nodded immediately, indicating that he would do it, but the medic held up his hand for pause, as he continued, "...to give permission for this young man to have surgery, as he's in no condition to make a decision for himself right now... but I have to warn you, if anyone decides to protest your guardianship, there could be legal ramifications."

My Dad just nodded. "I don't care, I'll do it. Just do whatever you can to help him, alright?"

The medic nodded, and turned back to Blaine, and the two of them lifted the guerney together up onto it's legs, and wheeled him quickly out to the waiting ambulance. I ran along side them, and after they had loaded him in, I climbed in beside them. I didn't even realise my Dad had followed us out until I felt his hand touch my knee. I glanced down at him, tears pooling in my eyes, as I tried my best to hold them back.

"We'll follow in the car, okay? We won't be far behind."

I nodded gratefully, and patted his hand gently. "Thank you, Dad."

Then the younger medic closed the back doors, and moments later, climbed into the cab and started the engine. The lights and sirens horribly disturbed the quiet night around us as we sped down the street. but I couldn't take my eyes off the beaten, bloody body beside me on the stretcher. I would never understand how someone's hate and ignorance could lead them to do something so horrible to such a sweet gentle soul as Blaine. He had done nothing wrong.

And yet, here he lay. Pale and still and broken.

Because he dared to love.

I couldn't help it. I just gave in, lowered my head to my hands, and cried.

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