"Kurt!"

There was a pounding on the door, waking the two boys from their nap. Kurt startled and Blaine's arms tightened around him.

“Kurt! Are you in there?”

“Yes, hold on, I'll be out in a minute, Finn,” Kurt called back, stretching. Blaine took one look at the flesh exposed by that stretch and ran his hand over it, causing Kurt to giggle.

Kurt leaned over to kiss Blaine and started to get up to get dressed, but Blaine pulled him back under the blankets and started peppering his face with tiny kisses. Kurt struggled for a moment, then surrendered and kissed Blaine's mouth with all he had. Blaine squeaked in surprise and kissed back, tugging his boyfriend so they were snuggled together in a warm heap. Kurt kissed Blaine for a few minutes, then slowly pulled back.

“I have to get up, Blaine. It must be close to dinner time, let's walk over to the cook house together. We're eating my salmon tonight!”

Blaine grinned at Kurt's enthusiasm and got out of bed, finding his thermals on the end of the bed and handing Kurt his. They got dressed in their jeans and flannel shirts, pulling on their boots before unbarring the door to catch up with Finn.

“Kurt, I saw your fish, wow! Burt told me you tied the fly yourself. Can you teach me to tie flies? I love fishing,” Finn grinned, exuberant and practically jumping in place as Kurt came out of the cabin.

“Blaine is the one you need to hit up for that, he's the one that taught me.”

Finn smiled at the dark haired boy that had a death grip on Kurt's hand, and Blaine smiled back. “Sure I will.”

They walked back to the cook house, Finn full of all the things he had seen in the logging camps. He was really enthusiastic about how it all worked and what a beautiful place Oregon was. Kurt just smiled – all he had seen of Oregon was this camp and a little of the surrounding woods, but he loved it, too. Finn went on about the different machines and tools and how it fit together, how they still used techniques from a century ago mixed with modern technology. Kurt was beginning to wonder about this whole conversation. He was used to his brother being excited about something new, but this just seemed excessive.

After fifteen minutes of hearing about all the wonders of Oregon and logging, Kurt had had enough.

“Blaine, I was thinking I might walk the rabbit snare line with Finn, show him how we set the snares, if that's okay with you?” Kurt asked. He could tell Blaine was going to volunteer to go with them, but gave him an eye-roll behind Finn's back. Blaine understood and said he needed to brush the goats and muck out their pens.

~*~*~*~

Walking down the footpath to where Kurt and Blaine usually set snares, Finn stuffed his hands in his pockets and whistled a tune, then sang a few words under his breath, tapping his leg in rhythm, “Highway run....into the midnight sun....hmmm...you stand by me...I'm forever yours....”.

“....faithfully,” Kurt finished with him, a gentle smile on his face. “Gotta love Journey, right?”

Finn smiled back. “Sorry, it was on my mind, sometimes it just spills out, you know?”

“I do know, but I don't think you were thinking about Journey, Finn. You were thinking about Rachel, weren't you?” Kurt asked, not looking at Finn to afford him time to adjust his face so the raw emotion was once more hidden. Kurt didn't want to embarrass his brother, just to support him.

“Well, maybe...” Finn mumbled.

“She hasn't dated anyone else since you broke up, has she?” Kurt asked, but he was pretty sure he knew the answer. He knew Finn more now than he had when he had a crush on him two years ago.

“No,” Finn admitted.

“You're still in love with her, aren't you?”

“Yeah.” Finn said, blushing.

“Finn, Dad told me you felt responsible for what happened to me. You weren't. I made the decision to stay late, so there is no reason for you to feel guilty at all,” Kurt told his bigger brother.

“Burt asked me to bring you home. I went against what he told me to do, therefore I was responsible, Kurt. I let you talk me into going with Rachel and I should have made sure you were safe first. What if they had killed you? It could have happened. I can still see all the blood in the parking lot, Kurt. There was so goddam much blood....” Finn shuddered and he looked at Kurt's face. “I thought I'd lost my brother and I never got to tell you I love you. Because in spite of all the misunderstandings, in spite of all the jealousy and rivalry and anger – I do love you, Kurt.”

Finn stumbled a bit, caught himself and held out his hands to Kurt. Kurt stepped into Finn's embrace and slid his arms around Finn's waist, holding him in a tight hug and running his hands up to massage Finn's back in an effort to comfort him.

“Finn, Finn...I'm so sorry you had to endure that. Please know I don't blame you at all. I was a victim of those boys, it was their fault, and it was my fault. Instead of standing up for myself, doing things to ensure my own safety, I was hiding. I didn't have much self esteem, and hiding seemed the best thing to do. But I was wrong, and I paid the consequences. I'm sorry you had to, too.” Kurt had tears running down his face now, still with his arms around his brother's large frame. Finn held him close and Kurt laid his head on Finn's shoulder, trying not to cry.

“We found you, Kurt. This is all that matters, you know, that we have you back. We can take you home, Kurt. Oh, my God, I missed you,” Finn said, once more hugging Kurt close and this time kissing his temple in his exuberance.

They slowly let go and resumed walking the trap line as Kurt showed Finn how to set a snare for rabbits. They were quiet for a while, reaching the end of the snare line and walking through the forest to another deer track to take a longer way home, away from the snares in case rabbits were already running that path.

“Finn, Dad said you quit the football team. That was your life, for goodness sake...why did you quit? Just because you thought I was gone?” Kurt asked in a soft voice, not sure he could stand the answer. He walked a little closer and caught Finn's swinging hand in his, as though he had to make contact to make this real.

Finn looked at their hands, surprised, but he didn't pull away.

“I just couldn't do it anymore, Kurt. I was busy putting up fliers, making phone calls and trying to find any way I could to find you...or to find....” he stopped walking and faced Kurt, letting go of his hand, but still could not bring himself to say it.

“My body. I get it,” Kurt looked away, struggling to compose his face again. “I tried to contact Dad. It isn't easy up here, and I got some wrong information, things got screwed up. I had finally decided to try to walk off the mountain...a lot happened the day before you came. Blaine had sent a message to you, but he didn't tell me. It would have happened eventually, that I would have been able to contact you, but I feel bad it took so long. Did you get the first message?”

“Yeah, but you have to understand, we got hundreds every week. When the Amber Alert went out, and then we did some videos on TV and things...we got so many responses from all over the United States and Canada. Police departments sent us pictures of missing kids, crazies sent us stuff, most were people who thought they might have seen someone who might have looked like you. It all got jumbled together. I was calling the ones I could, investigating the ones that didn't give me enough information. The one we got from....someone in the camp..Blaine? Anyway, there wasn't much information on it, and there was no phone number or email address. I had it in a file to try and contact a police station close by to investigate, but I hadn't gotten to that one yet.

“I would have found you, Kurt. We couldn't live without knowing...without knowing what happened to you. I hope you know that. How much we love you,” Finn said.

Before the whole thing happened, Kurt would never believe that Finn would feel like that about him, much less believe he could say it out loud. It broke something inside Kurt: he had no idea he was important to anyone, except maybe his dad. He began to tremble, his breath catching as he tried not to cry as he felt the wall he'd spent so much time maintaining start to crumble. Finn understood...he had spent months trying not to cry. He hadn't known how much he would miss Kurt until he was gone; Kurt had come to mean so much to him in the short time their families had been blended together.

“Kurt, I can see that things have happened to you since you've been here. You're different. Maybe it's that you had to do things to survive? Learn to gut fish and milk goats...nobody at McKinley will ever believe that....but I don't think that's all, is it?” Finn asked.

“No. Finn, what's different is that I met Blaine. I cannot imagine my world without him in it. At first it was just that he helped me. The camp bounty hunters were looking for me because they thought I had hidden aboard the empty railcar, and then Blaine hid me in his cabin. He started to teach me how to survive, but it was more than that, Finn. I fell in love with him and......” Kurt sniffed, so undone by emotion by this time, he couldn't continue.

“You can't live without him. Kurt, I can see it...in just the short time I've been here, I know how it is between you and Blaine. The way you look at each other. I only wish in my deepest heart that Rachel would look at me like that,” Finn said, pulling Kurt closer and putting his arm around him, rubbing his neck when Kurt put his face into Finn's shoulder. “You're going to be okay. He can come home with us for the trial and we'll work it out. Burt is so happy to know you're alive, I think he'd agree to anything,” Finn grinned. He wiped his face with his hand, “Let's get back now – I want some of that fish you caught!”

Finn pulled away, looking deep into his brother's eyes to make sure he was okay before clapping him on the back and stepping back on the path. Kurt wiped his face on his handkerchief and smiled at Finn, his wonder at Finn showing as he fell in step beside him and they walked along the path.

“You know, Finn, Rachel and I are pretty close friends. Maybe I can talk with her when we get back, get you two back on the right path, okay?” Kurt offered.

“Oh, that would be great. She was pretty fed up with me towards the last. She had offered to help over and over, but I kept pushing her away. I wanted to be the one to find you, I was feeling so guilty and even though Burt said it wasn't true, I think he blamed me. He didn't want to, but he did,” Finn related, his shoulders slumping.

“But he brought you, not Carole. Surely that says something, doesn't it?” Kurt asked.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Finn pondered. He smiled back at Kurt. “Thanks, little brother.”

“Hey!! I'm two months OLDER than you, Finn Hudson!” Kurt snipped, scooping up a handful of snow and making it into a hasty snowball and throwing it at his larger, younger brother.

“Oh, it's on now!” Finn called, scooping up some of his own. Kurt had been on the receiving end of a snowball fight with Finn before and lit out as fast as he could through the pine woods towards the cook house, laughing all the way. Finn threw the last snowball as they entered the clearing and Blaine got it right in the face. He looked at Finn with a shocked expression and grabbed his own snowball to throw. They all threw snowballs at each other until they were cold and wet and hungry, running into the warm cook house to get something to eat.

~*~*~*~*

“Sit down, dinner's ready,” Cookie called, opening the back door to the cook house.

Blaine, Kurt, and Finn walked in, stopping to wash their hands before entering the dining room. They walked into the dining hall, greeting Shannon, Lenore, and Burt, who were sitting at the table. When everyone was seated, Cookie came in with the salmon.

“Oh, that smells wonderful,” Burt said, a smile spreading across his face. “My son caught that!” he crowed, although everyone in the room knew that already. Burt was proud of Kurt and it showed.

“I cooked some of those fiddle-head ferns you showed me, Kurt, I thought they'd go well with the salmon,” Shannon said, dishing some onto her plate.

They all had large helpings of the fish and all the side dishes: oven roasted potatoes, grilled tomatoes, and the roasted salmon with lemon-caper sauce. They chatted and praised Kurt for the wonderful fish, complemented Cookie, and Finn told them about his helicopter ride to the camp.

After dinner, Kurt, Blaine, Finn, and Burt walked over to the cabin to play a game of Canasta. Lenore asked if she could come along, Blaine smiled at her and nodded. Blaine got busy building up the fire and Burt walked around the cabin. His eyes lit up when he saw a mesh basket with a long handle hung from a hook by the fireplace. He grinned and turned to Blaine.

“Do you have what goes in here?”

Blaine giggled. “Yeppers, there's a jar of it in the cupboard over there,” he pointed. Burt nodded. Kurt and Finn asked what went in the basket, but Burt and Blaine just smiled. If Lenore knew, she wasn't talking.

Burt watched his two sons. They had seemed a little distant, almost cold, at breakfast- but something must have happened when Kurt took him to walk the snare line because things were easy between them now. Burt had seen them bumping shoulders and later Kurt had given Finn a significant look that made him laugh. Burt was a little surprised at the obvious connection now forged between the two, they had never really gotten along since before he had married Carole. Burt heaved a contented sigh, he was sure this was good for both of them. Right now Kurt was leaning on Finn's shoulder while Blaine was looking for a deck of cards and a warm feeling passed through Burt.

They played cards for a while, joking and laughing, taking turns to sit out a hand since there were five of them. Lenore knew most of the games they played and she won several games partnered with Burt. When they won the last game, Burt got up and rummaged in the cupboard, finding the jar Blaine told him about. He took down the mesh basket that was on a long metal handle with a wooden grip. He opened the catch on the basket, pouring something in before he latched it back tight and walked over to the fireplace.

“I haven't done this since I was a little kid at my grandparents' place,” Burt said with a nostalgic smile. He put the basket over the fire and shook it. Blaine went over to the stove and got out a small cast iron skillet, plopping a few knobs of butter in and setting it on the back of the stove to melt. Kurt started to grin, figuring out what they were about to eat.

By the time the corn started to pop, Finn was grinning, too. They took turns shaking the basket over the fire until they had several big bowls of popcorn, butter drizzled over it and lightly salted. Blaine passed around mugs of hot chocolate and they all sat and spent the rest of the evening together, Kurt and Blaine snuggled together on the settee, the others in chairs and Lenore leaning on Finn's legs as she sat in front of him.

“We better head back to your house, Lenore. I'm getting sleepy and tomorrow is going to be a busy day for all of us,” Burt announced. “Blaine, thank you for the popcorn. Get some sleep, boys.”

“Good night Burt, Finn, Lenore...this was fun,” Blaine said, getting up to walk them to the door. Kurt followed, kissing his dad on his cheek and pulling Finn into a tight hug and patting him on his back.

~*~*~*~*

“This is our last night here,” Kurt said. “At least for a while. Do you think I'll ever be able to come back?”

“Of course. Why wouldn't you?” Blaine looked a little panicked.

“No reason..I just don't know what the future holds. I want to find a way to be with you, Blaine,” Kurt said, tangling his fingers with Blaine's on his lap. “As much as I've wanted to go home to Lima to be with my family, I have loved being here. This is a paradise, Blaine. Nobody will ever believe that I milked a goat. Or skinned a rabbit, or gutted a fish. It was like I fell asleep and woke up as somebody different.”

“You'll fit right back in, Kurt. How could your friends think anything else? I think you'll be so happy to be home you'll forget about me.”

“Never in life, baby,” Kurt said in a soft voice, kissing Blaine's cheek and snuggling in under his chin. “Never in life...”

They got ready for bed, cranking the tension on the rope bed for the last time. As much as they loved being together and experiencing new things, this night they just simply lay next to each other, drifting closer as the night got colder, laying like two koala bears, belly to belly.

It was just five in the morning when there was a knock on the door. Blaine struggled out of Kurt's grip and padded to the door in his woolen socks, the stocking cap on his head.

“Who is it?”

“Your brother. Open up, Squirt,” Cooper's voice came through the door.

Blaine lifted the bar and let his brother in, startling as Cooper grabbed him into a bear hug and swung him around.

“What brought that on?”

“Well, Mr. Warner said he had arranged for you to travel with Kurt. I was a little worried about you going by yourself later, so he arranged for you to go with them. I'm taking you all to the main camp to leave on the helicopter this afternoon. You'll be settled in Ohio by tomorrow.”

Blaine sat down heavily.

“I can't believe this is happening. I mean, I've never been anywhere, Coop. I can't take it all in,” Blaine said with a bewildered look.

“Aw, you'll be fine. The Hummels will take care of you, kid. You can call me! Mr. Warner said I could use the satellite phone any time I wanted to call you,” Cooper coaxed, rubbing Blaine's back.

Blaine threw himself at Cooper, hugging him with all his might.

“I'll miss you, Coop. Oh, this is scary...” Blaine looked scared. But Cooper knew it was important for him to do this. Not just for Kurt's sake, but for his own. He couldn't just live in a logging camp the rest of his life. He needed to see a little bit of the world.

“Now, I have a lot of things to talk over with you...”

Kurt continued to sleep while Cooper brought Blaine a checkbook for his trust fund that Brayden Warner had set up for him, some identification papers, since he'd never had a driver's license, and a number of other things he might need once he got to Lima. Mr. Warner's lawyers had drawn up custody papers for Burt and those would be sent to Kurt's house in the next week. He also talked to him about things to expect. Cooper had lived in Seattle for a while and told Blaine things he needed to know about being in a city. It was all a bit overwhelming, but they talked it out and Blaine was ready to go.

By seven, Kurt was up and dressed. They milked Betsy and Bossy for the last time and took the three goats over to Shannon. She kept goats and chickens and was happy to look after Blaine's until he got back. They met up with Burt and Finn and walked back to the cabin to pack. Blaine said goodbye to his friends in camp and they were ready to go by noon. Even Shannon and Cookie hugged Kurt before he left.

They got to the main camp and the helicopter was waiting.

Lenore was standing apart from the others, a sad look in her eyes. Blaine noticed and walked over to talk to her.

“Hey, Lenore. Are you okay?” he asked softly, taking her hand to comfort her, she looked so upset.

“Yes. Blaine, I know you don't like me. I've always liked you and the day you lost your daddy...it was my fault,” she started to say, but he put a finger to her lips to stop her.

“No, it wasn't. You know as well as I do that my dad would have gone in to save anyone. It was his fault, if it was anyone's.”

“But Blaine...I was in that shed because I was following you. I had such a crush on you, and I wanted you to notice me, so I had been following you. When you started to turn around on the path, I got scared and ran into the shed. I don't know why it caught fire, but your dad saw me run in there. He was laughing because I was following you. I know because he winked at me. Then when I smelled the smoke, I was too afraid to leave. He came in to get me, and he got me out -but the big beam fell on him. I don't remember much else, I was burned and someone came and carried me away. But I know it was because of me that he died,” Lenore confessed.

Blaine stood still a minute. He took Lenore in his arms, “No, honey, it was still not your fault. I know I haven't been nice to you, but I don't blame you. I stay away because you are a reminder of what I lost. But that isn't your fault, so I will try to be more fair when I come back. We can be friends then, okay?” He said, happy to see a bit more of a spark in her eye, then he started to worry that she might not understand he was gay. He took a big breath, ready to explain that to her, but she spoke instead.

“Blaine, I want to tell you something else. I wanted to make it up to you, so when I found out about Kurt being the missing boy from Ohio, I asked my daddy to help him find his way home. I did it because I thought he was your friend and you might like me again if I helped him. But I messed that up, too,” she looked down, this was hard to tell the boy she liked so much, but she had to get it out before he left.

“I didn't realize it at the time, I just thought you wanted to help him. By the time I found out the truth, it was too late -Daddy had already called Mr. Hummel. I'm so sorry, Blaine.”

“I don't understand – sorry about what? His dad found him, he's going home to be with his family again. Why are you so upset?”

“Because. You're in love with him. And now he's going home, he isn't going to live here with you anymore. I made that happen, I took your daddy away from you, and now I took the boy you love away. I don't know why you are even talking to me...” Lenore said, still holding back the tears that threatened to come spilling out.

“No, no...sweet Lenore. Kurt needed to go home. His dad was so sad without him, I know how hard it is to think your loved one is dead, so I'm really happy you asked your dad to help. You are a wonderful girl, and one day you'll meet and fall in love – with someone that deserves you. I'm sorry it can't be me, but you understand, don't you?”

“Yes. I live in a logging camp, but I'm not stupid. I know what it means to be gay. I may not have understood when I had a crush on you so long ago, but I do now. I'm glad you aren't angry with me,” she said.

“No, I'm not. I'm going to miss you. I'll be back one day, and we will be friends, okay? We can write to each other when I'm in Ohio, would that be nice?” Blaine asked, smiling at the little blond girl.

“Yes, thank you. I'm still sorry about your dad, Blaine..”

“I know. But you paid the price, too, didn't you?” Blaine asked. He knew she spent months in the hospital getting skin grafts and surgeries. Lenore pulled up the hem of her dress, showing Blaine the scars on her leg – from ankle to groin there was a twisted, angry red mass of what was once melted flesh. She had suffered through countless surgeries over the years because skin grows and scar tissue doesn't.

Blaine was moved, he knew about the burns, but had never seen the scars.

“It doesn't take away from how pretty you are, honey. Nobody could take that away from you,” he said and kissed her cheek.

~*~*~*~*

“Ready to go?” Cooper walked over to his brother, hugging him. “Have a good time, Squirt. Do me proud.”

Blaine hugged him goodbye and it was time to go. They got on board the helicopter, snapping in the seat belts and it took off, Blaine scared and hanging on to Kurt. Kurt was holding him tightly and looking over at his dad, who looked concerned. By by the time the copter was on a straight path, Blaine was looking out the window and grinning.

Hours later, after the helicopter ride and two airplane flights, they were landing in Ohio. Getting off the plane, a crowd had gathered to Kurt's utter amazement. There were banners and confetti and so many people, plus cameras and reporters with microphones. It was scary. Blaine was shaking, trying to rationalize it, but he didn't know what to do with all of this. It was mostly the noise...it was earsplitting. He tried to smile, but Burt finally saw what was going on, the rising panic in Blaine's eyes and whispered to Finn, who took Blaine's arm and guided him away from the crowd and over to Carole. She had spoken to Burt, and knew who Blaine was, and took him into her capable hands, whisking him off to get the luggage and on to the waiting Navigator while Kurt answered questions and stood astounded while people cheered him.

They made it home to the brick house on Whitman Street in under two hours. All of them were tired and they stumbled into the house, everyone sitting in the room off the kitchen to catch their breath.

“I sure wasn't expecting that...” Kurt said in a bewildered voice.

“You were missed, Kurt. You have no idea how many people came together to help,” Carole said, wiping her nose with a tissue. Kurt put his head down, this was unthinkable, overwhelming that so many people cared.

“Kiddo, why don't you show Blaine where your room is? He might want to rest after that plane ride,” Burt said. He had talked it over with Carole and although it flew in the face of the way he had been brought up, he recognized that his son was of a different generation. Things were not the same now and the boys had been sharing not only a cabin, but a bed for months. Burt would let them stay together. He thought he knew Kurt pretty well, and when they spoke about Kurt's relationship with Blaine a few days ago, Kurt told him they did kiss, but they were not 'going all the way'. They were being safe and taking it slow and Burt could trust them.

It was hard on the man, he had grown up in a different environment, in a different time. His folks would never condone their son having sex in their house. Burt was well aware of what could happen if Kurt and Blaine were to behave in the way most heterosexual couples did these days. He almost lost his son once, he wasn't willing to test the waters again. If Kurt was in a close relationship with his boyfriend, they had to have some outlet for their hormones. If they couldn't be close in their home, they might find other, less safe places.

So, in order to keep his son safe, Burt made a decision that went against everything he believed a responsible parent would do: he told Kurt that as long as he and Blaine were in this relationship, they could have a bedroom to themselves. They could lock the door. As long as they respected each other and respected the other people in the house, it would be okay. Burt could not lose his son to homophobic maniacs for just kissing in the back of a car, and this was the only way he could figure out to keep them safe. He closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer towards heaven, asking Elizabeth if he was doing the right thing.

Kurt stood up and held out his hand to Blaine, but Blaine only looked at Burt. He didn't want to alienate the father of the boy he cared about more than anything on this earth. He wasn't sure what to do and he froze, looking beseechingly at Burt for confirmation. Burt walked over to speak to Blaine privately.

“Go ahead, Sport. Kurt will show you where everything is, and I'm okay with you sharing the room. We can talk about it later, but just know it's okay,” Burt said in a soft voice. He squeezed Blaine's shoulder to show his approval and gave him a little push to start him on his way. Kurt held out his hand and Blaine took it, following Kurt down to the basement.

~*~*~*~

“Kurt? What's going on here?” Blaine asked. They had not discussed what the living arrangements would be once Blaine got to Ohio.

“I'm sorry, Blaine. Dad and I talked about it when you were talking to Cooper and Lenore. He is worried that if we show affection in public, the same thing could happen again. So, he is very generously allowing me to have you stay here in my room with me while you're here.”

Blaine just stared at Kurt for a moment, not sure of how to take this.

“You don't have to sleep with me, Blaine, if you're uncomfortable,” Kurt said, getting a little worried. Maybe he overstepped his boundaries?

“Oh, no...I want to sleep with you..” Blaine stopped short and the blush came to cover his whole face. “Oh...I didn't mean that!”

Kurt was blushing, too, although he knew perfectly well what Blaine really meant, he had to poke the bear.

“Oh, so you don't want to have your way with me after all? Well, Blaine, I guess I know when I'm not wanted,” and he gave Blaine his best bitch-glare and stuck his nose in the air.

“Kurt! You know that's not what I meant! Of course I want you! I want to sleep with you!”

“Oh, you just want my body, then?” Kurt was having fun with this. Blaine just stood there, stuttering for a moment before he caught the little smirk in the corner of Kurt's mouth and realized he was playing.

“Kurt, come here,” Blaine demanded and when Kurt came closer, he took him in his arms. He leaned forward and whispered into Kurt's ear, brushing his fingertips across his boyfriend's cheek as he spoke: “You know I want you, I want all of you and I want to give you all of me. But for now, what I meant was that I would like very much to continue to cuddle you like a koala bear at night because you are snuggly and I just kind of got used to having you there,” Blaine said, ending it with a kiss.

“Hey, get a room!” Finn said from the doorway, grinning at his brother and the boyfriend. Blaine jumped a mile, letting go of Kurt and stepping back. “Oh, hey...Blaine! I was just joking, Dude. Calm down. You can kiss Kurt anytime you two want. I'm just glad to have you home.” He lifted the suitcases he'd brought downstairs into the room and set them on the sofa.

“Kurt, I've gotten a few dozen texts; everyone wants to know when they can come over to see you. I know it's a little soon, but they have helped in trying to find you and they were grieving when we thought you were gone. Let me know when you're up to it, or if you just want them a few at a time, okay?” Finn asked, smiling at his brother.

“I will. Maybe tomorrow? I want to rest and Blaine needs to figure things out first. This is all new for him,” Kurt said, giving Finn a smile back. He was so happy to be back in his own room, and having Finn closer to him was an unexpected bonus. “Thank you, Finn. I'm so glad to be back home with you,” and he gave his brother a hug before turning back to Blaine.

“I'm glad you're here, too, Blaine. I'll show you around town this week, get you used to how things are here, okay?” Finn offered and earned a happy smile from his brother's boyfriend, too.

“I'll see you guys in a few hours for dinner. Burt is making ribs on the grill. I'll come get you if you want to take a nap now,” Finn offered.

“Thanks, Finn,” Kurt grinned.

After Finn left, Kurt closed the door to avoid any more interruptions. He could see that despite his smile and obvious curiosity about where he was, Blaine was exhausted and stressed. It must be so difficult to leave behind everything he had ever known to jump into a whole new environment just to please his boyfriend. Kurt understood, having experienced something similar when he woke up in the logging camp.

“Here, I have the extra dresser over here that you can use. This is where we store all the old furniture, so when I moved my bedroom down here I also got all of the castoffs. There is another bed we can set up if you want your own, we could move the sofa and chair out of the way...”

“Kurt. I lived in a cabin half the size of this room. I think anything you have here now is just fine. Quit worrying, I'm pretty low maintenance. All I need is you right now and a bed to lay my head. I'm tired. Do you want to take a nap with me?' Blaine asked, clearly ready for some sleep.

“You're right. We need to get some things done, buy you some clothes, get the room ready, plan for you to meet everyone...” Kurt continued to talk and Blaine took off his shoes and sweater, stripping down to a t-shirt and briefs while directing Kurt to do the same. Before he'd finished talking, Kurt found himself ready for a nap and gladly fell into his queen-sized pillow-top mattress, his boyfriend pulling him under the sheets.

They curled together, Blaine heaving a huge sigh indicative of all the stress he was shedding as he closed his eyes and clung to Kurt. Kurt kissed his cheek and ran his hand down Blaine's back.

“Are you scared, Blaine?”

“Yeah, Kurt if I'm honest – I am a little scared. This is all new to me and it seems so unreal. I've read a lot of books, but this is not the way I imagined so many things,” Blaine confessed.

“I'll keep you safe, my love. We'll get through this. You're braver than I could ever be, and don't think I will forget that you are doing this for me. Thank you.”

“It's for selfish reasons, too. I want you with me, I want to be where you are. I'd do a lot more than this to make that happen. Now, let's get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

Kurt snuggled closer to Blaine, burying his nose in Blaine's neck.

“I'm glad you're here, baby. Really glad,” Kurt mumbled as he fell asleep.

“I'm glad, too,” and Blaine was out, too.