Once again, Blaine was wedged in between Kurt and Cooper in an airplane, on his way home to Lima. He was a different person coming home than he had been going to New York, as though the city itself had waved it's magic wand and changed him. He had reached a new level of loving his angel, Kurt, whom he adored more each day. Blaine knew how lucky he was to have him and he had vowed as his new year's resolution to make Kurt more aware of it. Well, not to the point of annoyance, but a little thing here and there to let him know he was appreciated.

The other thing was that he was no longer the son of those monsters that had imprisoned him. No. He was Cooper Anderson's son, Cooper Anderson the New York attorney that had tried cases all over New York, but had taken a leave of absence from his firm to work in Ohio for the next year so he could be with Blaine until he graduated and went to college in New York.

But with that little in his paradigm, as happy as it made him, came with it's own little bit of a problem. If Cooper was his father, who was his mother? All he knew was that she had been just a little older than his dad, seventeen Cooper thought, and let a twelve year old child impregnate her. Wow.

Blaine could not wrap his mind around that one. Was it deliberate? And if so, why had she given him to his grandparents...in exchange for money? Cooper hadn't been very clear about the details of that, but Blaine thought it was because he just didn't know. As soon as Sasha told the Andersons, she had been whisked away and separated from Coop. Blaine didn't know if Coop had ever even seen her again.

He must have liked her, though. Blaine could see when he had asked about her, the look in Cooper's eyes as though he still thought about her all these years later. Blaine didn't know if he wanted to meet her. He would have liked to think she loved him enough to keep him, but who knows what really happened? Would it hurt Cooper if Blaine went to meet her? He didn't know. There was just too much in question now, and he had no idea how to deal with all of it.

He knew that both Cooper and Kurt were aware he was awake, though he hadn't opened his eyes since they sat down and put on the seatbelts. So, he opened his eyes to find Kurt staring at him, looking worried. He smiled at Kurt, snuggled into his side a bit closer, then smiled over at Cooper, too. He hated the small, confined space of the airplane, and knew Coop had upgraded their tickets so there would be more room, but it was still hard. Blaine had taken the anti-anxiety medication his doctor prescribed for the flight, and it made him sleepy, but he still felt the hot pressure of confinement, the fear building, and he hoped Cooper might sing to him again like he had on the way there. He tried to keep the trembling from his hands, but Cooper finally took them, looking at Kurt for permission and pulled Blaine closer to his own chest. He put the blanket provided by the airlines around Blaine and leaned close to sing “Hush, Little Baby” in his ear. Blaine closed his eyes once again and fell asleep, snuggled on Cooper's chest.

Puck and Finn were waiting at the airport to take them home, plenty of hugging and high fives as they walked to the parking lot, everyone chatting at once. Kurt enthused about all the things he had seen and Blaine just sat back and watched this boy he loved because watching Kurt when he was this happy was just about his favorite thing.

Driving up to the house, Kurt noticed there were quite a few cars parked in the neighborhood, and a lot of them looked familiar. He had a sneaking suspicion that they had a surprise for him inside, and he wasn't disappointed because he opened the door to find all of his friends shouting “Happy Birthday!” as he walked in. Tears gathered in his eyes, but they were tears of happiness as one after another of the people came to hug him and pull him in to the family room amongst joyous laughter and shouting.

Brittany came and threw her arms around Kurt, kissing him on the cheek and telling him she had toasted him at the New Year's party. Her congratulatory hugs were followed by a rib-cracking hug from Santana, who stuck her tongue in his ear just to hear him squeal, her deep throaty laugh at his discomfort making him love her all the more, despite his outward disapproval.

Mercedes cornered him next, grinning as she practically picked him up off his feet in her exuberant hug, kissing his cheek several times. Sam, Mike, Tina, even Rachel were there to welcome him home. He chanced to look over at Blaine for a moment between hugs and saw that his boyfriend was ducking his head in the shy way he had when there were a lot of people, but he had a smile on his face that reached his eyes and Kurt smiled back at him. He suspected Blaine had known about this party well ahead of time.

Carole had made a cake and Kurt blew out the seventeen candles, thinking of a wish he wanted fulfilled. It was a wish that had been in his thoughts for a long time, and his cheeks reddened as the blush bloomed across his face, making Blaine blush as well. Someone else saw the wish in Kurt's eyes and how Blaine had reacted to it, and so Santana grabbed Blaine's hand in understanding. She slipped an arm around his shoulders as she felt him tremble a little. Puck saw and shifted quietly closer and placed an arm around Blaine's waist to pull him a little closer and give him a quick whisper in his ear.

Cooper was watching this exchange and felt two things – each diametrically opposed to the other: first was a pain in his heart as he realized Blaine had a support system of caring friends that were looking out for him, even during something as joyous as a party. He was jealous, and guilty with that jealousy because he knew he had not been there for his son when he needed him. The other was an amazing elation of spirit, knowing these people loved Blaine and would look out for him, would be there to protect him when he needed them, and Cooper was grateful in his heart for them. He sighed, sitting on the outskirts of this group of friends, wishing he had had friends like this when he was low in spirit and missing Blaine when he was at boarding school.

Cooper was beginning to feel overwhelmed, so with a last glance to be sure his son was okay, he wandered into the kitchen to get away from the crowd for a breath of air. He sat on a stool at the counter and was surprised to feel an arm suddenly around his waist, hugging him. He turned to see the bright brown eyes of Puck's grandmother, Sophia, looking in to his eyes.

“You are worried about your brother?” she said, actually more a statement than a question.

“Yes, ma'am, nothing gets past you, does it?” he said, feeling a bit less alone with her arm around him. “But there's something I need to tell you, maybe later,” he mentioned.

“We can go now, out on the covered porch, while everyone is busy in here, if you wish,” she said, understanding that he was quite upset. She liked Cooper a lot since getting to know him after Blaine's rescue last year. He was a kind and generous person and obviously loved his little brother.

“I don't want to take you away from the party,” he smiled at her.

“Nonsense, Cooper. I've seen enough birthday parties in my day, let's go out there, I have just poured us cups of hot chocolate and we can enjoy them in peace,” she told him, reaching for the cups on the counter. Cooper followed her, holding the door and settling down in a chair as Sophia sat across from him. They put their cups on the table and Cooper got up to get her shawl. He had seen it on a chair in the kitchen, and he brought it back to wrap around her shoulders before sitting down again.

“Tell me what's put such a sad face on you today, Cooper. Did everything go as planned in New York? I know the boys were thrilled to go,” she asked, smiling at Cooper. He brushed his hair out of his eyes. It was curly, though not as curly as Blaine's, and he had eyes just as intense as Blaine's, but a royal blue in color. The two looked a lot alike, but there were subtle differences. While Blaine had the capacity to show pure, innocent joy at times, Cooper's demeanor was always clouded with that touch of melancholy that never left him, even in his sleep. Sophia had known such people, mostly ones who were so damaged as children that the pain never left them, even years after it had stopped. It had made her wonder – if the Andersons were capable of imprisoning Blaine, what might they have done to Cooper?

Cooper just sat for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts. How was he to tell people the truth now? How would it affect Blaine? He was reluctant to tell anyone before talking to Blaine and finding out how he wanted to tell their story. But this was Sophia, and he knew she wouldn't tell anyone if he asked that of her. And it would be good to get her views on how to deal with the situation as a whole.

“Ah, I need this to be confidential,” he said. Sophia nodded and moved to sit next to him, taking his hand in hers. Cooper's hands were large with blunt tips and manicured nails, tanned from being in the sun, even in December. Sophia's were very tiny, almost lost in Cooper's, and had the paper thin skin of someone of her advanced age. There were many scars and she wore several rings with diamonds or sapphires in them, making her hands look even tinier. In spite of the appearance of frailty, Sophia's hands were sturdy: a lifetime of kneading bread and milking cows, holding babies and digging gardens had made them strong in spite of the arthritis that twisted them into painful shapes these days.

“Blaine isn't my brother,” he said, looking at the old woman, worried she wouldn't believe him.

“Okay,” she patted his hand, but didn't inquire more, she knew he would tell her when he was ready.

“He's my son,” Cooper said next. If Sophia was shocked, she didn't show it. She smiled at Cooper, as if this was wonderful news. He was surprised at her reaction, expecting her to be incredulous. But, then, Sophia was over 90 and had probably heard just about everything in her lifetime. He was encouraged to continue and found himself telling her the whole story, from the first days of falling in love with Sasha to the trip home from New York. He confessed how scared he was to find how he and Blaine would continue in their lives with this information.

She had held his hand, murmured encouragement and sorrow during his story, even giving him a kiss on the cheek as he told her his heartbreak of having to leave Blaine behind when he went to boarding school. Tears rolled down her old cheeks when he told her how his parents had told him Blaine died in a skiing accident in Switzerland when he was in law school in their attempt to hide what had really happened to Blaine.

“Oh, Cooper, my dear, dear boy. How you have suffered. But you know, you and Blaine are still young, you have long lives ahead of you. You cannot erase what has transpired in your past, but you can make your future a better place. Now that you know the truth, and have shared it with Blaine, you can grow together. You don't have to do everything at once, you can take baby steps. I think this will be good for both of you now, to have time to heal in a place where you are both surrounded by people that love you.

"The Hummels are a family to you and Blaine, and I think you'll find that they will be the strongest support system you can imagine. And you know I will always be there for you,” Sophia told him, and Cooper broke down and cried into her shoulder.

“Thank you, Miss Sophia, thank you,” he sniffed.

Sophia took Cooper by the chin and lifted his head. She took the end of her shawl and dried his eyes. “Let's not have any more tears today, okay? You are with your son now, and for that you should be happy, right?”

“Yes, and I am so grateful after all we've been through. Thank you,” he smiled back at her, offering her his arm to take so they could rejoin the party.

Back inside, music was playing and all of them were singing and dancing in the family room and the kitchen, talking and smiling and everyone was so glad to be there having such a great time. Britt was dancing with Santana, Lauren with Puck, Mike and Tina, Finn and Rachel, Artie and Sugar, even Carole and Burt were doing a few hesitant steps, laughing together as they watched Kurt and Blaine slow dance to a fast song as though they had a whole different song playing in their heads just for themselves. Kurt saw Sophia standing with Cooper and went to give her a hug.

“Dance with me, Gramma Sofie?” he asked.

“I can't dance that way, Kurt, I'm too old. I only know how to dance the old dances from my childhood,” she said.

Blaine smiled. “I can play the music for them!” and he went to the piano and began to play a Polish folk tune he had memorized to please Sophia last year. She loved the attention and was soon showing all the teenagers how to do the chodzony, a slower dance she learned as a child. When she got tired, she asked Santana to show them a Mexican dance which everyone was shocked to find out she knew. This was followed by many others, Mike helping with all of them as he was so well versed in any kind of dance. Burt was even called upon to show them a simple Irish jig he had learned from Kurt's mother's aunt. By the time the party was over, everyone was laughing and smiling and tired from the dancing. They all thanked the Hummel family for all their hospitality and Kurt hugged everyone goodbye.

Soon it was just Puck, Santana, Lauren, Kurt, and Blaine all sitting in the family room as they had done in the first days of Blaine's freedom. Brittany was there, too, but she was sound asleep on the sofa, a blanket lovingly tucked around her by Santana.

“And here we are again, the partners in crime so to speak. We've come a long way since that day, haven't we?” Kurt smiled at each of his friends as they smiled back.

“Tell us about the trip to New York!”

"We will, so many things happened, but I think it's a tale for another night,” Kurt told them.

“There is another story to tell you about my life, but honestly, I'm too tired to do it now. Maybe we can get together sometime in the next week and I can tell you then?” Blaine asked, dark circles under his eyes letting them know how tired he really was.

“We need to be on our way, it is late. Santana, I think if Puck can carry Brittany out to my car we will give you two a ride home, okay?” Lauren said, her arms around Puck.

“Thank you,” Santana said, and Kurt looked over at her, not used to hearing such nice things come out of her mouth. He smiled, which embarrassed her.

“Happy Birthday, Pretty Pony, I'm glad you're back,” she said, “And you, too, Hobbit.” Blaine and Kurt both grinned at her, glad to hear she was back to her own snarky self.

There were good nights and welcome backs all around as the boys walked their guests to the cars.

“We are sure blessed with good friends,” Blaine observed and they went down the stairs to their bed. In the past year, they had stopped trying to fool anyone and just slept in the same bed. Burt had not been happy about it, but the third week of being woken up with Blaine screaming in fright during a nightmare until Kurt was able to wake up enough to get a light on and walk over to the other bed and comfort Blaine, he decided to just let Kurt sleep in the same bed. He asked the boys to respect his wishes concerning their intimacy, and he left it at that. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He had given both boys 'the talk', separately to keep the embarrassment at a minimum, but that didn't happen – they were all terribly embarrassed with it all. He did it, though and felt better for having done so.

Kurt walked into his room, sitting on the bed for a moment to gather himself.

“I'll get out our pajamas,” Blaine offered, “then we could take a shower together if you want?”

“I'm pretty tired, that sounds good. I changed the linen before we left, so it's clean and we can just jump in bed after,” Kurt smiled.

Blaine got out two sets of pajamas. He had liked Kurt's silk ones so much, Kurt had gotten him several pairs for Christmas, so there were Kurt's blue ones and Blaine's purple ones. He took off his clothes, covered from the dust of the airport and the long taxi ride this morning, and put them into the hamper with Kurt's. They would have to do laundry tomorrow. He padded into the bathroom, suddenly so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open.

Kurt had the shower on already and Blaine stepped in, holding on to Kurt's hand as he tried to keep his balance. Kurt brought him in close, so they could share the spray of water and get wet all over.

“You look so tired, baby, let me wash your hair, okay?” Kurt asked, and Blaine closed his eyes as Kurt's fingers massaged the shampoo into his scalp, rubbing away all the gel and dust from the streets of New York. He rinsed Blaine's hair under the spray and washed it again, carding his fingers through the soft, silky curls and Blaine sighed in contentment. He loved it when Kurt washed his hair. Kurt pulled him closer, so his back was touching Kurt's chest and then brought his hands around to wash Blaine's chest. Kurt used Dove soap, the pink kind that he said reminded him of his mother. He rubbed it on a washcloth and then gently washed Blaine's chest and arms, turning him to wash his back and backside, down his legs. Covered in slick soap, Kurt put his arms around Blaine and moved their bodies together, just to feel each other and Blaine giggled at the ticklish feeling it caused.

Blaine reached up to wash Kurt's hair, but he took Blaine's hands in his own, “It's okay, I washed it before you got in. This is about you right now, baby. You are so tired, let's rinse off and get into bed,” Kurt told his boyfriend, kissing him on the neck as he put his arms back around him.

Kurt got out first, helping Blaine out and wrapping him in a fluffy white towel and patting him dry before doing the same for himself. They dressed in the silk pajamas and got into bed, turning off the bedside lamp before cuddling under the blankets, warm in their nest.

“Big or little?” Kurt asked.

“Can I be the little spoon tonight?” Blaine whispered. He liked being the big spoon most nights, being more comfortable when he felt in control, but tonight he just wanted to feel safe in Kurt's arms. Too many things had happened in the past week and he was feeling very vulnerable and Kurt was the one person he always felt safe with.

“Of course, baby. C'mere,” Kurt cooed, holding out his arms as Blaine turned over to place his back against Kurt's chest, then lay back to feel Kurt card his fingers through Blaine's curls once again. It was calming and felt so good, he sighed and closed his eyes. Kurt's hand came around his waist, settling so it cupped his belly and rubbed gently as Kurt hummed Toora Loora Loora and Blaine fell asleep, knowing he was loved.

Several hours later, closer to dawn, Kurt was sleeping lightly when he heard Blaine's breath catch, then a quiet sobbing sound started and Blaine was trembling.

“Hey, honey, it's okay. I'm here,” Kurt rubbed Blaine's back, his arms and the back of his neck. Blaine caught his breath loudly and snuffled, quieting as he fell back asleep, nightmare averted. Kurt fell back asleep, he was so used to this he had hardly even woken up this time. But a while later it was back, a snuffling that worked its way into crying and verged on screaming before Kurt turned Blaine in his arms and tried to calm him.

“Wake up, Blaine. It's okay, baby, it's okay. I have you. I have you....” he whispered into Blaine's ear, kissing his cheek, his jaw, stroking his arms. But Blaine continued to fuss, now throwing his arms a little in an attempt to get away from his dream demons. He was strong and when he had this kind of night terror, he had been known to strike out. A few times Kurt had ended up with bruises when he had failed to wake Blaine up enough for him to know where he was. This was working into one of those nights and Kurt thought about calling Cooper or Finn to help. He didn't like to call his dad, both because of his dad's health and because Blaine was sometimes still afraid of him and that made things worse.

“Blaine, honey, it's me, it's Kurt. Wake up, you're okay,” he soothed, but Blaine was full out crying now. Kurt tried one more time to pull Blaine close and comfort him or wake him up, but to no avail. He grabbed his cell from beside the bed and dialed Coop's number.

“It's okay, Kurt” he heard Cooper's voice. He could tell Cooper wasn't asleep, which probably meant Blaine had woken him up, too. “I'm on my way.”

Kurt held on to Blaine, just waiting for Cooper to get there, and he was in just a few moments.

“Bee, it's okay, I'm here. Settle down, you're safe. Kurt and I are here with you,” Cooper said in a calm voice, taking Blaine's body from Kurt and holding him in his lap with his strong arms. Kurt went into the bathroom and returned with a warm washcloth, which he folded and placed on Blaine's forehead. That would sometimes wake him up a little faster, and it seemed to help tonight.

“Kuuuurt? Coooooper?” Blaine whined, blinking his eyes. He looked puzzled.

“It's okay, Squirt, we're here,” Cooper said, stroking down from his temple to his cheek in gentle rhythm. Blaine shook his head a little, looking up with sad eyes when he realized he had probably woken them up with another nightmare.

“Oh, Cooper, I'm so sorry. I guess I woke you up. Where's Kurt?” he looked around, spotting Kurt on the far side of the bed, looking anxious. He hated it when Kurt looked like that, mainly because he knew it was his fault. He brushed a tear from his eye.

“Don't cry, baby, we're here for you. It's okay,” Kurt soothed. He moved closer to Cooper, his hand on Coop's shoulder to steady him as he got closer to Blaine.

“I must have been having a nightmare,” Blaine said.

“Yeah, but we're here. Can I get you something to drink?” Kurt asked.

“Some warm milk? If it's no trouble,” Blaine said, his eyes blinking shut again. Cooper let him lie down on the bed again and got up, holding his hand to stop Kurt.

“I'll go get it. Do you want anything?” Cooper asked.

“Just some of the same, thank you,” he said, grasping Cooper's hand and squeezing it for a moment. He smiled up at Cooper and Coop was warmed by that, glad he was able to do something for Kurt because he felt he owed him more than he could ever repay.