Blaine had hoped he could do more damage to the jock, but no such luck; Karofsky shoved him away with all his might, and he slammed into the rusty gas pump. Karofsky didn't even glance back at the two boys before he ran to his truck and took off.

"Blaine?" Kurt whimpered. He was still on the ground, curled into a ball. Blaine tried to ignore the searing pain and wetness on his arm, and knelt next to Kurt.

"Shh, shh. It's okay, Kurt. I'm here." Blaine held his left arm close to his body, not wanting to get any blood on Kurt's clothes. They might be covered in dirt, but Kurt would kill him for getting blood on them. "I'll call 911, just hold on one second, alright?" He reached into his pants pocket to find his phone, but Kurt tried to swat it away.

"No. No." his eyes were closed, but his voice was forceful. "I, I can get up. I'm fine." To prove it, he pushed Blaine away and sat up. He tried to use the handle on his car door to pull himself up, but he slid down again.

Blaine helped Kurt stand up, but he wasn't putting any weight on his left leg.

"Kurt?" he asked gently, his right hand still holding onto Kurt's waist. He stared at the ground, not looking at Blaine.

"Kurt, did he hurt your leg?" he finally glanced up, his eyes pooling with tears again. He nodded, not trusting his voice at that moment. He was hurting so bad, and he wanted nothing more than to fall into Blaine's arms and let himself be held.

"K-kicked me." Kurt whispered.

"Kurt, you've got to let me at least take you to the hospital." Blaine knew that Kurt wouldn't be okay with an ambulance, but he thought he might be able to get him there if he drove.

Kurt nodded again.

"We'll take your Navigator, okay? Let's get you in." He wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist, being careful not to put too much pressure on his ribs.

"Thank you, Blaine."

"Anything for you. You know that."

.....

"Blaine? What's going on? You tore out of here like a bat out of hell, is everything okay?" David held his phone to his ear. Wes looked at him, confused. They were in the common room, going over some new arrangements for a Black-Eyed Peas song when David's phone rang with Blaine's ringtone.

"Holy shit." His jaw dropped.

"What? David, what's-" Wes was silenced by David's hand covering his mouth.

"Yeah, no problem. Bellefontaine? 'Kay." He paused. "No, I've got your spare. Lima Memorial? Alright. Do you need us to bring anything for you?"

"Mmph!" Wes's groan was muffled.

"I'll drive your car, Wes can drive mine. We'll be there as soon as we can." He ended the call and removed his hand from Wes's face.

"Hospital?" Wes asked.

"Kurt got attacked at some gas station in Bellefontaine. Blaine's taking him to the hospital in Kurt's SUV, but he doesn't want to leave his car there."

"Wait, he's going to the Lima hospital? Why not a closer one?" Wes was confused.

"No idea, didn't ask. Let's go drop our stuff off and head out, I want to get Blaine's car before it gets stolen."

"Did he tell you how bad the attack was?" Wes asked as they made their way up the stairs to David's room.

"No, but it couldn't have been too bad if he's not taking an ambulance." He shrugged. "Let's hurry, though. I want to make sure they're both okay."

A blonde head poked out of a door. "Ambulance? Who?" Jeff asked.

Wes and David just stared at each other, neither of them wanting to say anything else. They had no idea what had happened between the two boys, but they knew that they weren't talking, and that Kurt had stayed over with Blaine the night before.

"Guys, who's going to the hospital?" Jeff asked again, getting irritated.

"Listen, Jeff, we can't-" David started.

"It's Kurt, Jeff." David glared at his best friend. Wes just looked back, his eyes wide and innocent.

Jeff had never had a panic attack, but he thought he was about to have one. "What?"

"He's on his way to the Lima hospital-" Wes was interrupted this time.

"Jeff, you can call him later, but right now, we've got to leave." David grabbed his friend's arm and dragged him to his room. Once they were safely behind the locked door, Wes knew he was in trouble.

"I'm sorry, David! He just looked so scared, I had to tell him!"

David shook his head and dropped their things on his bed. "Just… ugh. Let's go, we need to get Blaine's car. Do you have your wallet?" Wes nodded. "'Kay. I'm going to drive Blaine's car once we get there, then you'll drive mine. We'll go to the hospital."

"David?" Wes sounded worried now.

"Yeah?" he shut the door behind them, making sure it was locked. He was grateful that he and Wes had changed into hoodies and sweats for the night, since he knew from experience that sitting in a hospital in his uniform was not comfortable.

"Do you think Kurt's okay?"

David paused before answering, and they were already outside when he finally spoke up. "I don't know, Wes. I hope so."

.....

"Holy shit, is he okay?" Finn hadn't expected Blaine to tell him his brother was on his way to the hospital.

"He should be, we just have to get there. He wanted to go to the one in Lima, and we should be there in a little bit. My friends are on their way from Dalton to pick up my car, then they're going to meet us at the hospital. Can you call your parents? I would, but I don't want to be the one to tell them what's going on."

"Yeah, yeah, no problem."

"Thanks for calling me to begin with, man. If you hadn't, I don't even want to know what could have happened. We'll see you at Lima Memorial in a few."

Finn smiled a little; maybe he was kind of good at this big brother thing. "I'll see you there, and I'll let you know when I get a hold of my parents."

"Thanks, Finn. See you in a bit." Blaine hung up, and turned his attention to the boy sitting next to him. "You doing okay, Kurt?"

He didn't say anything.

"Kurt, you gotta answer me. Are you okay?" his voice was firm.

"Yeah. It just hurts to talk. It hurts to breathe." He was quiet.

"We'll be there soon." Blaine glanced over at him, and was met with the sight of Kurt bent over double, tears silently streaming down his face. Without thinking, he reached over and took Kurt's hand in his own and slightly squeezed it. Kurt kept his eyes closed, but squeezed back.

Katy Perry was playing softly over the radio, and Blaine started singing along.

It was different from the first and second time Blaine sang this to Kurt. This time, there was more feeling. This time, there was no awkwardness. This time, Kurt just held his hand, and Blaine was okay with that.

Blaine kept singing, holding onto Kurt's hand. He ignored the burning pain in his arm, the stinging tears in his eyes, and the awful aching of his heart, and sang along to the song that had first introduced them. No matter what, it was their song. It didn't matter if they were together, it didn't. Kurt was his teenage dream. Hell, he was the one person Blaine thought could be more than just a teenage dream; he was the one person he actually loved.

.....

"His name is Kurt Hummel! Where's my son?" Burt Hummel was standing in the waiting room of the ER for Lima Memorial Hospital, not really trying to control his temper. He was scared, so scared for his son, and the admitting nurse was just looking at him and not being very helpful at all. He was angry, not just at the girl. He was angry that he had put his phone on silent, and hadn't checked it more. He was mad that he found out about his son's attack more than an hour after it had happened, and he was pissed that he had gotten pulled over on the way to the hospital.

"Mr. Hummel, they took him back as soon as we got here." Blaine got up from the chair he had been sitting in, and walked toward his friend's dad. He was immediately swept up in an unexpected hug from the man.

"Thank you so much, Blaine. God, thank you." Burt let a few tears fall from his eyes, and let go of him. He kept his hands on his shoulders, and looked at him. "Thank you."

Blaine didn't really know what to do, but he nodded. "Anything for Kurt, Mr. Hummel." Burt thought he heard something else there, something more than just worry, but he let it go. "I'm just glad I got there when I did."

"That Karofsky kid did this to my boy?" His voice was a little raised, but he quieted down when Carole put her hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, sir." Blaine nodded.

"You call the cops?"

"No sir, not yet. I wanted to wait for you." Blaine hoped he had done the right thing in not calling the police; he doubted it, though.

"I'll call 'em. Carole, honey?" he turned toward his wife. "Can you come get me if the doctor comes out?" she assured him she would, then he went outside to call the police.

Carole looked at Blaine for a moment; he looked like a mess. He had dirt all over his gray sweats, blood on his arm, and his hair was all over the place. "Blaine? What happened to your arm?"

He looked startled; he had zoned out for a second, and hadn't heard Carole start talking to him. "Huh?"

"Your arm. There's blood on it, what happened?"

He looked down at the bloody mess; his entire left forearm was red and brown, a mixture of dirt and blood. He couldn't feel the sharp pain he had felt earlier, it had turned into more of a dull ache. "I fell. Well, Karofsky pushed me, but-"

"Mom?" Finn came around the corner, flanked by Puck and Mike, with Sam trailing a little behind. It spoke volumes about how far Finn had come that he let himself be held by his mother while he cried a little. It wasn't the crying, or his mother, it was the fact that he did it in front of his friends, who were all on the football team.

"Shh, it's okay. It's alright, Finn." She stroked his back, and kept whispering calming words into her sons ear.

"Dude." Puck walked over to Blaine. "You did good, man. Thanks."

Blaine nodded.

"Seriously, saving Kurt, and running Karofsky off? You rock." Mike added.

"They're right, you know. You kinda saved him back there." Sam joined in.

Blaine still didn't say anything, he just nodded again. He was starting to feel a little dizzy; after-effects of all the adrenaline, surely. Luckily, the boys walked back over to Finn, who was no longer in his mom's arms. Blaine had just sat back down in his chair (which was starting to get his ass imprint) when two familiar faces ran into the waiting room.

"Blaine? Oh, Jesus, Blaine. You look like shit." Wes blurted out.

"Does everybody have to get here at the same time?" he muttered.

"Do you realize how fast your car can go, man? Holy cow, I'm impressed." David smiled, then sat down next to Blaine and handed him his keys. The smile was wiped clean after he saw the evil glare Blaine was throwing in his direction.

"Kurt gonna be okay?" Wes asked. He was still standing, and he looked slightly uncomfortable. He didn't like hospitals, even though he didn't have a rational reason to.

"I think so. I mean, he hurt his leg, and he said it hurt to breathe, but other than that-" he stopped when he saw a tall woman walk out of a pair of double doors. She was obviously a doctor, and when she called out "Hummel?" his heart leapt into this throat. He jumped up from his seat and half-ran over to her, desperate to hear good news.

"Yeah?" Burt had just walked in as he heard his name being called, and got to the doctor just as Blaine did.

"You're Kurt's father?" she asked, extending her hand.

"Yes, what's wrong with my son? He gonna be alright?" his eyes were full of fear.

"Yeah, is my brother gonna be alright?" Finn echoed.

The doctor looked around at the assembled group; Burt, Carole, Blaine, Finn, Puck, Mike, Sam, Wes, and David. Blaine was just happy the rest of the Warbler's and New Directions weren't there, the waiting room wasn't big enough to hold all of them.

"He'll be fine, guys. He's got bruises, and he'll be in a cast for a bit, but as long as he takes it easy, he'll be just fine." Sighs of relief were heard all around.

"Wait, cast? What's broken?" Burt asked.

"Well, it seems an impact to his left leg broke his tibia. It's not a bad break, though, just a hairline fracture. It'll take a couple months to fully heal, but a plaster cast for now, then a walking cast, some physical therapy, he'll be as good as new." She smiled.

"What about his stomach? And his chest?" Blaine had to ask.

"No damage to any internal organs, he'll just have some pretty nasty bruises on his stomach and side. He did, we think, bruise a few of his bottom ribs on his left side. There's not much we can do for that, though, just Tylenol, ice, and taking it easy."

"Thanks, doc. Can we see him now?" Burt just wanted to make sure his son really was okay.

"Of course, but only two at a time."

"'Kay, my wife and I will go first. Finn, you and Blaine can see him later, okay?" Burt didn't wait for a response before he half-dragged Carole towards the double doors.

Blaine was feeling a little more dizzy, and his vision was starting to cloud.

"Uh, Blaine, I think you might want to sit down." David put his hand on Blaine's right shoulder to steady him; he had started to wobble. "Whoa! Holy sh- Blaine, you're covered in blood!" he exclaimed, seeing his arm; it really was quite bloody. Wes reached over and took Blaine's other shoulder, and they moved him back to his chair and made him sit down.

"'Mfine." He mumbled. He closed his eyes, willing the room to stop spinning. David and Wes exchanged concerned looks that quickly changed to a mix of shock and fear when they heard a new voice.

"I'm looking for Kurt Hummel?" Great. Jeff had arrived.

Blaine's eyes shot open when he heard Jeff speak, and before his friends could stop him, he was up and right in Jeff's face. "Leave, Jeff. If Kurt wanted you here, he would have had me call you. Get out of here." His voice was surprisingly calm.

"Blaine?" Jeff took in the sight of the shorter boy. "Dude, you okay?" Blaine had stumbled a little bit on his way over, and couldn't seem to find his footing.

"G-go away, Jeff." Blaine closed his eyes and tried to steady himself.

"What's going on, Blaine?" Finn had come over once he saw his brother's boyfriend.

"Blaine! You need to sit down!" David pushed through the other two McKinley boys to get to his friend.

"No, Kurt needs-"

Everything went black.

.....

"Please, Mr. Hummel. I just want so see him for a few minutes." Jeff pleaded with Kurt's dad. Wes and David looked on, neither one sure if they should say anything. They didn't think it was their place, but they also knew that Kurt probably wouldn't want to see him.

Burt sighed. "Yeah. Fine, just wait for Finn to come back out, then you can go see him."

Jeff grinned broadly. "Yes sir." Seconds later, Finn walked out. He hadn't been back with Kurt for too long, since he could tell he was tired and wanted to be left alone. He had asked for Blaine, but Finn just told him he couldn't go back there yet. He didn't know where Blaine was exactly, but he knew he had passed out; Finn had no intention of freaking Kurt out any more than he already was.

"Room 214!" Burt told Jeff as he walked through the doors.

"208, 210, 212…" Jeff counted. "214." He took a deep breath and then stepped inside the dark room.

"Who is it this time?" Kurt's soft voice met him when he walked in.

"Kurt, baby, I'm so glad you're ok-"

"Jeff?" he stopped when he heard the anger in his voice.

"Please, Kurt, listen to me." He gathered the little bit of courage he had and made his way to Kurt's bedside. "I'm so sorry, baby. I was so scared. When I found out you were here, I just-"

"Get out." Kurt wouldn't look at him, instead he stared at the blank tv in the corner. The only sound in the room was the beeping of his heart monitor, counting each precious beat.

"Kurt?" he finally turned his head toward the blonde boy, and regretted it almost immediately. He saw how red-rimmed Jeff's eyes were, and knew he'd been crying. His hair, which was usually brushed over his bangs, was askew, and his blue jeans had a big ketchup stain on one thigh. Jeff was obviously a mess.

"Why are you here?" he couldn't stop the venom in his voice; Kurt was still pissed at Jeff, even if he had driven two hours to see him.

"Why? Why is because I lo- oh, fuck it. Kurt, I love you. I fucking love you and I was so scared that something really bad had happened to you, that that fucking jock had really hurt you, that you were beyond fucked up, or in a coma, or de-"

"I'll be fine, Jeff." Kurt stopped him. "Wait, what did you say?" he wasn't sure what he had heard, the morphine was pretty powerful.

"I, I love you, Kurt. I love you." Each time he said it, Jeff's smile got bigger. "I really do, baby, and I'm so sorry, I just…" he trailed off when he saw Kurt's face get confused, then angry again. "Baby?" he asked.

"What's on your neck?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Huh?"

"What is on your neck, Jeff?" he asked again, hurt clouding his already bruised face.

Jeff touched his neck, not sure what Kurt was talking about.

"There, right there."

Jeff paused, and looked down. His hand wasn't exactly on his neck, it was closer to his collarbone. He knew what Kurt was talking about. He moved to pull the collar of his t-shirt up, but Kurt reached out and stopped him.

"Simon?" Kurt asked gently. It killed Jeff to hear Kurt say his name. "Please, Jeff, tell me."

Jeff closed his eyes for a second, trying to think of what he could say to make everything better. "Y-yeah. Him. But Kurt, it doesn't mea-"

"Leave. Please." Kurt moved his hand from Jeff's arm, and looked away. "I don't… Just go."

Jeff just looked at him, dumbstruck. "Kurt, let me explain, baby. I'm so sorry, I-"

Kurt whipped his head back around, wincing as he did so. "Don't call me that. And I believe I told you to leave."

"Kurt…"

"No. I'm done with you. You show up at the hospital with a hickey on your neck from your ex, and you think it's okay? You practically fuck him while you're with me, and you think that's okay?" Kurt was breathing hard now, the anger and hurt just getting stronger. "We're done. I don't want you anymore. Get the hell out and don't fucking come back." His normally warm eyes were now ice-cold, any sign of affection completely gone.

Jeff stepped back, trying hard not to start crying. He knew he had screwed up, but he thought that… he shook his head. It didn't matter anymore, Kurt didn't want him.

"I really am sorry, Kurt." he whispered. He left the room, not knowing if Kurt heard him.

.....

"Fourteen stitches? Holy hell, Blaine. Why did it take you so long to pass out?" David was sitting next to his friend. They were in one of the little curtained-off areas in the ER, both Blaine and David on the bed, and Wes on the little doctor's chair. Blaine shook his head and laughed a little at the sight of Wes wheeling around, making 'whoosh'-ing sounds.

"I didn't really notice it that much, honestly. I was too focused on-"

"Kurt, we know." Wes and David said in unison, and rolled their eyes at their friend.

"Didn't know I was that predictable…" he muttered. He glanced down at his arm, which was now clean. He had fourteen little black stitches on the side of his forearm, and was just waiting for the doctor to come back with the care instructions. They had given him a tetanus shot just in case, even though he had almost passed out (again) at the sight of the needle. He knew he'd be sore the next day, but it was worth it.

"Blaine Anderson?" they all heard a familiar voice ask.

"Right across from you, young man." A nurse answered. Seconds later, the pastel curtain slid open, revealing an obviously upset Jeff Lochlan.

"Jeff?" Blaine was a little more than surprised to see him.

He looked at Blaine's arm. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine. What do you need?" Blaine kept his voice even; the hospital was not the place for him to yell at his best friend's boyfriend.

"Nothing, really, I just…" he sighed. "You win."

"What?"

"You win." Jeff didn't say anything else, he just shut the curtain again and left.

"What was that about?" Wes asked.

"I think they broke up…" Even though he was sure Jeff thought he would be overjoyed (and he was happy they weren't together), the first thing on his mind was Kurt, and how much it must have hurt him. If the doctor hadn't walked in right then, he would have ran to Kurt's room to comfort him.

.....

"Yes, officers. We understand." Carole and Burt were standing in Kurt's hospital room with Officers Thompson and Slaughter.

"Do we have to do this right now? My kid's been through a lot, and-"

"Dad, it's fine. Anything to make this not happen again." Kurt just wanted them to find Karofsky and put him away. He used to feel bad for him, the closeted jock in western Ohio, afraid of anyone knowing his secret. Now he just wanted him to go away forever, where he could never hurt anyone ever again.

Burt nodded, then took his son's hand when he started talking.

"My brother and I got into an argument about Karofsky, and I was upset. I went for a drive, but ran out of gas before I could really get anywhere."

.....

"But dude, the cops are here. We should let them take care of it." Mike was trying to stop Finn, Sam and Puck from leaving the hospital.

"Screw that, man. Screw that. They'll arrest him, and then what? Put him in juvie?" Puck growled. They were almost to his Pinto. "Juvie sucked, but he deserves so much fucking worse."

"Puck, you'll just end up there with him!" Mike was worried now; sure, he wanted to kick Karofsky's ass, but he also knew that they could all get in serious trouble if they jumped him, and he didn't want to end up in jail himself.

"Stay here then. We'll go take care of him ourselves." Sam didn't turn back when he spoke. "I've seen guys like him before; nothing stops them until something does."

"Sa-"

"Mike, no offense dude, but if you're not going to help us, then shut up and go back inside." Finn spun around, and Mike was a little afraid of his friend. "He fucking attacked my brother. If it hadn't been for Blaine, he could've… I need to do this. I wasn't there last time, I have to do this now." Mike could see the regret in Finn's eyes, so he shut up and nodded. He wasn't going to do anything, but he'd be there for his friend.

"Get in, guys. I know where he'll be." Puck started the car and revved the engine.

.....

It was dark, and the rain wasn't falling too heavily yet. It was just a light drizzle, nothing big. He sighed, and thought back to earlier that night.

No! St-stop! Please, no!

Kurt's voice had cut through the air like a knife. He hadn't meant to keep going, but he really couldn't stop himself.

I didn't say anything! I swear! Please, no!

He could still feel Kurt's body curling around his foot, trying to make him stop. Once he got that phone call, though, there were only two things he wanted to do…

You a fag, Dave? What the fuck?

He was lucky he wasn't around anyone when Azimio called him; all the color had drained from his face, and the cd he had been holding at the time shattered.

'Cuz that's what I heard. I heard you kissed Hummel. That true?

He denied it, of course. Told his friend that nothing like that happened, that Kurt had lied about it.

Didn't hear it from Kurt, man.

He wouldn't tell him who he heard it from, though. Karofsky guessed it must be Finn, or maybe that black chick. He knew Azimio was into her, maybe she let it slip.

That why you always goin' after him, huh? You like him?

Did he? Did he like Kurt? He told his friend no, no way. He hated those fags, fucking perverts. Told him that maybe Kurt liked him, and had spread that lie.

You better not be fuckin' lyin' to me. You better not be a little faggot.

He wasn't.

You gonna take care of him now? Show him what it really means to fuck with you?

He had laughed, told him he would 'deal' with him. He didn't mean that he would…

No!

He barely noticed the hot tears running down his face as they mixed with the cold rain that was now starting to pour.

Stop it!

That one guy, the prep school kid. He knew he recognized him, he was the one that knew about the- yeah. He was the one. If he hadn't shown up when he did, he wasn't sure what would have happened.

Ugh!

The sound the boy made when he hit the gas pump was a little sickening, even to his ears. He hadn't meant to push him that hard, but he did. He didn't even stick around to see if either boy was okay, he just ran. He ran to his hand-me-down truck, jumped in the driver's seat, and took off. It wasn't until he was 20 miles from Lima that he realized he was shaking.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

He had pulled over on the side of the highway and gotten out, trying to calm himself down.

He's fine. They're fine. You're fine.

Once he was calm enough to drive, he had driven to the high school. Yeah, he didn't like the school itself, but he felt comfortable on the football field. It was kind of his home away from home. He had liked spending time on the ice when he was on the hockey team, but after a close call with a teammate (he still couldn't look him in the eye) he had left the team. At least here, on the football field, he felt like he could be okay.

.....

"There he is." Puck pointed at Karofsky, who was sitting on the ground, his back against the field goal post.

Finn didn't even wait for the car to come to a complete stop before he was out and running toward the boy. He didn't see the tears running down his face, or the crushed picture in his fist. He didn't stop to think about anything other than the hurt, scared, broken face of his brother. Karofsky was going to pay.

.....

"Are you okay?"

"I wish everyone would stop asking me that." Kurt grumbled and looked away from his curly-haired friend.

"Sorry." Blaine couldn't help but sound a little pathetic.

"No, don't be." Kurt turned back. "I'm just a little sick of it, that's all." He smiled a little. "Are you okay?" he had noticed the line of stitches down Blaine's arm.

"Eh, I'll be good. Just a few stitches, nothing I haven't had before."

Kurt didn't miss that.

"Before?" he asked.

Blaine paused before he answered. "I'll tell you sometime. Right now, I'd rather listen to you talk." He sat down in the chair closest to the hospital bed, and let Kurt take his good hand, the one he held on the drive over.

"I broke up with Jeff." He was quiet.

Blaine didn't say anything.

"I know he, he said he loves me, but I don't think he does."

"Wait, what did he say? When did he say that?" Blaine blurted out before he could turn on his brain-mouth filter.

"Earlier tonight. In here."

"Oh." He looked down at their hands, noticing the little circles Kurt was drawing into the back of his hand with his thumb.

"I think he still loves Simon." Kurt sighed. "And I, I still have feelings for him, but they're not as strong as- Well, they're not as strong as they could have been. As they should have been."

"I'm sorry Kurt." Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but Blaine continued. "I'm sorry for Jeff, for Karofsky, for our fights, for everything. I'm so, so sorry." He leaned forward, wanting Kurt to really understand him. "You deserve so much better than what you've had. You're amazing, Kurt, and all this bullshit, all these shitty things, you never deserved them."

Kurt looked at Blaine, his eyes wide and shimmering with tears that he didn't want to fall; he was sick of crying in front of this boy.

"Blaine, I-"

The door opened.

"Kurt, do you know where Finn and the other boys would go?" Carole stepped in. Blaine started to pull away from Kurt, but the other boy kept a firm grip on his hand.

"They're not here?" He asked. He wanted to see Finn again, to apologize.

"No, we can't find them. None of the boys are answering their phones, either." She was worried.

"Mrs. Hudson-Hummel?" Officer Slaughter came to the door, her brown hair slightly hidden by the police cap she wore.

"Yes?" Carole asked.

"Come out into the hall, we need to speak with you."

"Okay. Kurt, honey, I'll be back in a few minutes." she smiled at her stepson, then walked back out into the hall and shut the door.

Officer Slaughter waited until she was sure the door was closed before she began to speak. "We found your son, ma'am. He's on his way to the police department. As is Mr. Dave Karofsky." Her voice was curt.

"What happened?" Carole's voice cracked.

"Another officer was called to the McKinley High school, for reports of a fight on the premises. Your son attacked Mr. Karofsky on the football field."

"Oh god! Finn, is Finn okay? Was he arrested? Is my son okay?" she asked in quick succession.

"Ma'am, your son is fine, he's just got a black eye and a sprained wrist, or so the paramedic thinks. The other boy, well, he's probably going to take a pit stop here before he goes to the police department." She sighed. "Looks like he's got a cracked jaw, along with a broken brow bone."

"Let me go talk to my husband, then I'll meet you at the police department." Carole tried to keep her voice steady, but it was obvious that she was upset.

"I've got to head up there now, I'll see you soon, ma'am." The officer nodded once, then turned to leave.

Carole took a few deep breaths, then went back into the room. "Kurt, honey?"

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I have to go, but I'll be back as soon as I can, alright?"

"Oh, okay. Is Dad going with you?"

"I don't think so, sweetie, I'll send him in for you though. I gotta go now, love you." she walked over to kiss him lightly on the forehead.

"Bye, Carole. Love you too." he smiled, and watched her leave.

The room was quiet for a few minutes, neither boy saying anything, both content to sit in the quiet.

"It's getting late, Kurt, I better get going." Blaine didn't want to impose on Kurt, not when he should be healing. He moved to take his hand back, but Kurt held tighter.

"Please, don't. Don't go. I'm sure my parents will let you stay with them tonight, you shouldn't have to drive back to Dalton. Not with the storm outside." He didn't want to admit to Blaine that he was afraid to be alone.

"But Wes and David-"

"Can stay at my house, too. Trust me, my dad and Carole will be okay with it."

Blaine seemed to consider it, then sat back down. "Okay. But only if your dad says okay."

"He will." Kurt squeezed his hand. "Blaine?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"Will you do me a favor?" he knew it would probably sound stupid, but he could at least try.

"Anything for you. What is it?"

"Can you… can you sing to me?" he blushed.

"Sing?" Blaine was a little confused. "Sing what?"

"Anything. Doesn't matter. Just sing."

"Why?" he asked gently, not wanting to upset Kurt.

"In the car, earlier. You singing? That calmed me down. I felt better. I really just want to feel a little better, and, well…" he trailed off, and looked down at their intertwined hands.

He didn't see Blaine smile, and he didn't see the slight blush on the other boy's cheeks. Blaine didn't blush that often, but when he did, it was usually caused by Kurt.

"Like I said, anything for you." Granted, he sang it in a lower key, but he hoped it still sounded good.

.....

Burt was about to step into his son's hospital room, but stopped when he heard a soft voice singing. It wasn't Kurt's voice, though. He peeked inside and saw Blaine holding Kurt's hand, and Kurt's eyes closed, but a smile on his face. The boy in the room with him had done a lot for Burt that night, even if he hadn't realized it. He had risked his own life to save his son's, and that meant more to Burt Hummel than Blaine could ever realize. Apparently Blaine meant more to Kurt Hummel than Burt realized.

He smiled, then went back to the waiting room. He could wait a little while to see his boy; someone else who loved him was with him.

......

Next: Kurt has to heal, but he can't do it alone.