Kurt almost pushed him out of the way in his haste to get to his boyfriend. Ignoring all his various injuries, he threw himself on the ground next to the pair of them and placed a hand on the distraught boy's shoulder.

"Hey Blaine, it's Kurt. Are you okay?" On hearing those words, Blaine let go of his mother and turned to Kurt. For a second they could see the tears running down his face before he buried his head into Kurt's shoulder. Burt could see that Natalie was a little put out at being discarded in such a way, but he decided he didn't really care. He did however offer her a hand to help her up off the floor. As soon as she was standing she began brushing her skirt down.

"What the hell happened?" Burt asked, and it was Davies who answered.

"The last suspect blew a kiss at the window as he left the room. Blaine didn't take it well." Burt closed his eyes and shook his head at the information. Poor kid, as though this wasn't hard enough to deal with.

"How did he even know to do that?" Burt asked. " I thought they couldn't see through that damn glass."

"They can't, the guy is just an asshole," Davies replied, and while it might not have been very professional of him, Burt appreciated the comment none the less. It was nice to know this guy was on their side. "Obviously this whole thing is very traumatizing, and I'm sorry Blaine had to go through that on top of everything else," Davies said, echoing his own thoughts from earlier.

"In fact, I've been meaning to mention we have an excellent psychologist that deals with these sorts of cases, and I can give you her number if you like. I think the boys could use someone to talk to about all of this."

Burt found himself nodding; he'd been thinking about something along those lines himself.

"I'd really appreciate that," he said to the detective.

"Good, good," Davies seemed very pleased that his suggestion had been taken well.

"What about you Mrs. Anderson, would you like the number as well?"

"Oh, I'm not sure. My husband usually makes those sorts of decisions, and I don't know if he'd approve," Natalie replied. She didn't look at them as she spoke, instead alternating between giving her son worried glances and Kurt resentful ones. Burt barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the woman, and glancing over at Carole, he saw that she was unable to resist the urge herself.

"You don't think he'd approve of his son getting some help?" Davies asked frowning, only now seeming to realize what kind of woman he was dealing with.

"My husband's a firm believer in learning to cope with things yourself. He says that's what makes you strong." Natalie's tone was a little defensive and Burt wondered if it was because she felt the need to defend her husband's beliefs or whether it was because deep down she knew how ridiculous they were.

"Well, this is a very big deal, Mrs. Anderson," Davies said and Burt could detect a hint of anger in his voice. "There's no shame in asking for help. Some things are too big to handle on your own."

While they'd been talking, Blaine had calmed down. He was now getting up and helping a slightly bewildered Kurt to his feet. Burt could see why Kurt would be confused. A moment ago, his boyfriend was a sobbing mess on the floor, desperately in need of some comfort, and now he looked like nothing had happened. He hoped that Natalie's words hadn't affected him, but it sure looked that way.

"I'll get you both the number anyway. Hopefully once you've spoken to your husband, you'll give her a call." Davies left the room.

"I think it might be best if we got going, Blaine," Natalie said after a few minutes of silence.

"Okay," Blaine said. All the fight seemed to have gone out him.

"Don't you want to come back to our house?" Kurt asked, and Burt could tell his son was slightly panicked at the thought of not seeing Blaine.

Blaine looked between his mom and Kurt, both of them with the same pleading look on their faces, and Burt knew Blaine wouldn't be able to make a decision that would hurt either of them.

"Well, your car is at our house, Blaine, so why don't you come back with us, have some lunch, and then you could drive it home this afternoon?" He shot Kurt a look as he spoke, letting him know that he didn't want to fight him on this one, he should take what he could get.

"Yeah, okay," Blaine still seemed a little dazed. "Is that okay, mom?"

Natalie sighed and nodded, knowing that she needed to accept the compromise.

"Yes, that's fine, Blaine. Are you sure you're okay though?" Burt was surprised that she even remembered that Blaine had been so upset a moment before.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it was just a bit of a shock, that's all."

Burt could see Natalie looking at Blaine intently for a few seconds before she seemed satisfied that he was telling the truth. Burt wasn't so sure. He had a feeling that this was yet another example of Blaine wearing a mask, playing the part and saying what he knew she wanted to hear.

"Why don't you two boys head out to the car while we wait for Detective Davies to get us that number," Carole suggested, and Burt knew she wanted to speak to Natalie without Blaine there.

"Okay," Kurt nodded, but Burt caught the raised eyebrow he sent his stepmom and knew that Kurt knew there was a hidden agenda there. Blaine seemed oblivious.

Burt watched as the boys left the room, noticing that Kurt was limping a little. He would make sure that he hadn't pulled any stitches by getting down on the floor with Blaine like that later.

"There are a couple of things we've noticed with Blaine the last few days, Natalie, and I thought it probably best that you know about them," Carole began as soon as the boys were out of earshot.

"What kind of things?" Natalie asked, actually looking worried.

"Well, he's not been eating for one thing," Burt began. "It turns out he was worried about something and while I managed to get it out of him, I don't want to betray his trust by repeating it without his knowledge. Just make sure he eats something, please."

Natalie looked like she was about to say something in response, but at the last minute she shut her mouth and just nodded. Burt could see that she was slightly annoyed at him.

"I don't know if he's been taking his medication either and he's definitely not sleeping very well," Carole spoke next.

"He told me he slept fine last night," Natalie protested.

"Well, he lied," Burt spoke bluntly.

"I don't think Blaine is dealing with this as well as he'd like you to think. I'm not trying to tell you what to do Natalie, but we've noticed these things and they worry us. I think talking to a psychologist would be a very good idea. He needs to talk to someone who isn't going to be upset by what he tells them, someone impartial, so please at least consider it," Carole finished.

Natalie didn't answer, but when Davies entered the room a few minutes later she took one of the cards and put in her purse without comment.

Kurt watched Blaine carefully as they made their way out of the police station and across the parking lot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How are you feeling?" he asked Blaine nervously as they leaned against the car next to each other; it was just too stuffy to sit in the car and wait. He hated this, he hated the fact that he had to tread on eggshells around Blaine. He'd always been the one person he felt like he didn't have to worry what he said to. Everything was different now.

"I don't know," Blaine answered with a sigh. Kurt went to take his hand in his to offer some support, but Blaine pulled away.

"Why won't you hold my hand?" Kurt couldn't help the question, but he felt bad when he heard Blaine's sharp intake of breath.

"I want to, Kurt," Blaine said turning sad eyes on him. "I'm just..." he looked away as though ashamed to face him as he said the next part. "I'm afraid, Kurt."

Kurt felt his heart clench. Of course, why hadn't he seen it before? Blaine had been fine with holding his hand in private, had seemed to seek it out in fact, but in public, well that was a whole other thing. Because the last time they had held hands in public was when this whole nightmare had begun.

"Oh Blaine, I'm so sorry. I didn't think," Kurt said.

"No," Blaine shook his head almost violently. "You don't have to keep apologizing for my stupid fears."

"It's not stupid, Blaine. I understand completely. I don't think you need to scared, but I can see why you are."

"I hate this so much, Kurt," Blaine had tears in his eyes again, but he swiped them away angrily. "I hate that I've become this weak, pathetic thing. I hate that you have to see me like this."

Kurt just wanted to take Blaine in his arms then, but he didn't want to push things. Instead he slowly reached down and took Blaine's hand in his. The whole time he kept his eyes on Blaine's face, making sure it was okay, that he was okay. Blaine eyes flashed with fear at first and he quickly shot his eyes around the parking lot, as if checking to see who was watching.

Kurt knew that there were a couple of people around, but no one was paying any attention to them. Kurt threaded his fingers through Blaine's so that they were intertwined and he felt Blaine first tense and then relax.

"Thank you," he said quietly, looking down at their intertwined fingers with a small smile.

"No, thank you," Blaine responded with a small smile of his own.

Even when their parents showed up they didn't let go. It was kind of awkward getting into the car with only one free hand, but as long as Blaine was willing to hold his hand, then Kurt wasn't going to let go.