Klaine Advent 2018 Day 21: Understand

Dimension nineteen: bodyguard

When Blaine wakes up, the sight of Burt Hummel crying at his bedside greets him.

Burt realizes that Blaine’s awake and he attempts to dry his tears.

“… Burt?” Blaine asks in confusion, “What are you doing here?”

Burt takes a deep breath. “I am here to make sure you’re okay, kid, and to make sure that you know that none of this is your fault, okay? I want you to know that I don’t blame you for anything that has happened.”

Blaine has no idea what he’s talking about. He looks around and he sees that he’s in some sort of hospital wing. Not only that, but there’s security everywhere.

Not for him.

But for Burt.

Burt Hummel is wearing a fancy suit with a pin of the American flag and a pin of the rainbow flag. There’s also a banner that says ‘Burt Hummel, 2016!’ in the background.

Holy shit. Burt Hummel is the future president of the United States.

Not only that, but something bad must’ve happened. Blaine looks around some more and he sees that there’s someone else lying in a hospital bed as well.

“Wes!” Blaine tries to get up, but Burt pushes him back, “What is wrong with him?” And why is Wes always the one who gets hurt?

Burt looks a bit puzzled. “Don’t you remember? The doctors said that you hit your head, but they didn’t mention possible amnesia.”

Blaine decides to put this to good use. If he pretends to have amnesia, then him asking questions won’t be too suspicious. “I’m sorry? What happened?”

Burt sighs deeply. “Do you, uhm, know who you are?”

“Blaine Anderson,” Blaine answers honestly. He only wants to figure out where he is. He doesn’t want to worry Burt too much.

Which is a good thing, because Burt lets out another sigh, but this time from relief.

“Blaine. Then you probably do remember that you are the bodyguard of my son, Kurt.”

Blaine just nods, but he already has a bad feeling about this.

“Again, son, this is not your fault. Kurt and I trust you with our lives and we know that you would never hurt Kurt,” Burt says. There’s something in his voice, though. It’s as if Burt is suspecting that there’s something more going on. “You and Kurt were ambushed. Wes Montgomery, who also works with us, happened to be close by and he tried to help, but you and Wes were taken out and when we found you, Kurt was gone.”

“Wow,” Blaine says slowly as he lets the new information sink in, “I could’ve died.”

But Burt shakes his head. “I don’t think they wanted you to die, since they left a note.”

“Who took Kurt?” Blaine asks, since that is a more pressing matter.

Burt looks towards the other armed men and they nod. Then, Burt says: “We don’t know. That’s the worst part of it. We were given an address and a sum of money they request. Secret services are trying to track Kurt down as we speak, but we have no idea.”

“Is it terrorism?”

Burt shakes his head. “We have no reason to believe that.”

“Then who did this?” Blaine asks.

But Burt tells him not to worry.

Blaine should rest.

Blaine is going stir-crazy. He’d expected more of the bodyguard dimension than sitting in a hospital bed and waiting. Wes has woken up. The two of them are relatively fine. Blaine knows they’ve gotten extremely lucky, since they could’ve gotten killed.

Wes is silent, but there’s a comfortable silence between the two of them. Wes has been given his Nintendo, so he’s occupied. Blaine has started reading the limited edition of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, since he has time to kill.

Besides, he has to be busy. When he’s reading, he’s not thinking.

Burt has asked Blaine and Wes if they need something. Blaine has asked for the book. Hopefully, Burt can find it for him. After all, he’s the president.

No one is telling him anything, since everyone is of the opinion that he should rest.

Wes claims that the secret services are probably working around the clock to find Kurt. The news that the president’s son is missing has unfortunately reached the public. Apart from some hardcore Republican saying that this is Burt’s own fault, everyone’s supporting Burt. Even Fox News. The support is nice, but the constant media attention isn’t.

Even if Blaine has access to classified information in this dimension, he’s not getting it. No one is telling him anything. Blaine appreciates the concern, but he’s not happy with it. Kurt is his fiancé and he’s being held for ransom for God’s sake.

The rest of the day is incredibly uneventful. He reads, he talks to Wes, and he tries to worm information out of the people who give him food, but by midnight, Blaine’s gotten nowhere.

Wes says goodnight.

Blaine puts his book back in his bag and something shiny catches his eye. Hidden underneath the clothes he wore when he left his dimension is his knife from the apocalyptic dimension. It’s pretty unrealistic that security didn’t spot a knife, but by now Blaine’s accepted the fact that everything in this bag is being kept in this bag, as if his bag is some sort of dimension itself.

Tomorrow, he’s going to find Kurt, no matter what.

There’s a flaw in the plan.

He’s currently in a very secured hospital wing. There are literally armed men on the other side of the door. This is what happens when you’re close with the president of the United States. Sure, Blaine has a knife, but it’s nothing against a gun. Blaine can swerve his knife, but the guards can shoot him from a distance. That’s why everyone’s lobbying for gun control, not knife control.

Besides, Blaine does not want to harm the guards. They’re all trying to keep him safe.

And Burt would never forgive him.

Even if he manages to get past the guards, someone walking around in hospital robes will get noticed. Blaine still has the clothes from the very beginning with him, but after being in this bag for days, they’ve gotten damp and they smell.

He’s ruffling through his bag, hoping to find anything useful, but his bag is filled with souvenirs from different dimensions. Blaine loves them, but they’re very unhelpful right now. He gets them out of the bag one by one.

Unfortunately for Blaine, he’s so focused on his bag that he doesn’t notice Wes waking up.

Wes lets out a small scream when he sees the knife in Blaine’s hand.

“Where the fuck did you get that?” Wes yells, and Blaine’s afraid the guards or nurses are going to barge in. He quickly puts the knife back in the bag.

“It’s… uh… mine.”

It’s not a lie.

Wes is staring at Blaine with wide eyes. He slowly gets out of bed. “Alright, Blaine, we gotta talk. You cannot just take a knife with you into one of the most secure hospital wings of the United States. We’re under the protection of the president. What are you even planning on doing with a knife?”

Blaine had expected Wes to be more confused about the knife being here in the first place.

“I am going to find Kurt.”

Wes snorts. “Yeah, right.”

Blaine does not like the patronising look on Wes’s face. Wes needs to understand that Blaine has to save him. Yes, sure, Blaine is slowly realising that his previous feelings about protecting Kurt are not always that great, but that does not mean that Blaine doesn’t care. He has to find Kurt, or he’ll go insane.

“I am going to find Kurt,” Blaine says again, with confidence in his voice.

Wes’s expression changes from patronising to somewhat sympathetic. “Blaine, we cannot do that.”

“You have to understand,” Blaine says urgently, “I cannot do this. I can’t sit here and do nothing, knowing that Kurt is out there!”

Wes stares at him and he blinks slowly. It’s creeping Blaine out.

The silence is awkward. Wes isn’t speaking, which starts to worry Blaine. Usually, Wes is the first to comment on everything, and Blaine’s sure that that hasn’t changed in this dimension.

“I need your help, Wes,” Blaine pleads.

Wes blinks again. “… I knew it.”

Blaine tilts his head to the side. Wes knew what?

“I knew it!” Wes yells out and Blaine’s surprised no one has barged in to check on them, “Oh my God. You two are in love, aren’t you?”

Blaine wants to nod, but he can’t know for sure. Wes is not talking about him and Kurt. He’s talking about the Kurt and Blaine from this dimension. However, the thought of the Kurt and Blaine of this dimension being in love makes Blaine’s heart swell with joy.

“Oh my God, Blaine! I knew something was up with you two, but I didn’t want to ask, but on the other hand, it was so obvious,” Wes says. He’s strangely happy about this. “I think that even Mr. Hummel suspected it. Jeez, Blaine, knowing you, you probably think you have to keep it secret for whatever reason, but I totally support you and I bet Mr. Hummel does to!”

Wes continues talking about how happy he is for Blaine and Blaine likes it, but there are more pressing matters.

“Yes, yes, I love him,” Blaine says and Wes’s face lights up, “And therefore I can’t sit still. You gotta help me get out of here.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Wes frowns, “I wanna help, man, but what are expecting of me? This isn’t the Lion King where I start dancing a Hula  -I’m totally not gonna do that! We cannot do that! You are a better dancer than I am!”

The more Wes speaks, the more Blaine realises that Wes is right. There’s nowhere to go. All his plans are terrible and unrealistic.

Wes is still talking. He’s a nervous talker in this dimension. Blaine starts pacing around the hospital wing, trying to come up with something new. It is very difficult, since apart from Burt, no one has the power to change things here.

Wait a second.

“Burt!” Blaine says loudly.

Wes stops mid-sentence to look at Blaine. “What is with him?”

“We can ask Burt to let me go,” Blaine says, feeling brilliant, “Like you said, Burt probably knows that I am-”

“Banging Kurt?”

Blaine scoffs. “I was going to say ‘dating’, but banging isn’t far from the truth either.”

Wes slaps his hand against his forehead and Blaine laughs.

Wes now has a red mark on his forehead, but he doesn’t seem to care. “So, what is your new plan? Request an audience with one of the most powerful men on the planet, because you’re in love? What gives you the idea that he will listen to you?”

Blaine rolls his eyes. “You gave me that idea, Wesley.”

Wes holds up his hands. “Now, now, all I said is that Mr. Hummel is probably aware of your undying love for his son. I didn’t say ‘hey, let’s ask Mr. Hummel if he can just discharge you for no reason apart from your undying love for his son!’.”

But Blaine’s made up his mind. He alerts one of the nurses and he requests a visit from the president.

Burt is sitting in front of Blaine and Wes, surrounded by guards, and he looks very annoyed.

“Okay, let me get this straight. You want me to use my presidential privileges to discharge you, even though it is clear that you still need rest.”

Blaine nods.

Burt sighs. “Blaine, I do have the power to overrule the decision made here, but I am not a medic. What kind of president would I be if I use my power to make decisions in things outside my field of knowledge, only because I want to?”

“It’s not like you are using your presidential power to overrule law and finance!” Blaine says, “You discharging me isn’t the same as, I don’t know, wanting to fire someone powerful at Wall Street because their fact-based predictions don’t match your views.”

Burt has an incredulous look on his face. “What kind of incompetent president would suggest that?”

Blaine waves it away. “That is not the point, sir. I really do appreciate your need and strive of integrity, but I can’t sit here, knowing that Kurt is out there!” Blaine points towards one of the blank walls, but they all get the message.

“Blaine, I know this is hard, but I still don’t see one reason to discharge you.”

Before Blaine can speak, Wes jumps in. “What about love?”

The guards all start to whisper with each other and even Burt seems taken aback by Wes’s answer. Blaine wants to say something, but Wes is first.

“Sir, forgive my words, but we all know that Kurt and Blaine have done a fucking terrible job at hiding their mutual attraction towards each other!”

“Wesley,” Blaine hisses, but apparently, in this dimension, Wes is just a talker.

Wes looks towards the guards. “I mean, please tell me you haven’t noticed the heart eyes and the longing stares and the blushes!”

To Blaine’s surprise, all the guards start to murmur short affirming answers.

“I mean, I once saw them holding hands,” one of the guards says and all the others turn to her.

“You did?”

“I knew it!”

“Why didn’t you say so? You know we love this gossip!”

Burt shakes his head and yells out: “Silence!”

All the guards immediately go back into position. Burt turns to Blaine.

“Blaine, do you love my son?”

“More than anything,” Blaine answers without hesitation, because it’s true and by now, he’s convinced that the Kurt and Blaine from this dimension are dating.

Burt rubs his temples. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want anyone who works for me to get hurt.”

“I understand, sir, but I am willing to take that risk!”

Burt frowns. “Are you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really want this?”

“Yes!”

“If I let you, will you immediately join the search party?”

“Yes!”

“Are you willing to die for my son?”

“Yes!”

The last answer leaves everyone stunned, even Blaine. Wes is openly staring at him and the guards start to whisper again.

Burt seems lost in thought. He doesn’t even care about calling off the guards. Wes eventually asks them to quiet down.

After a while, Burt turns to one of the guards. “Have Blaine Anderson discharged immediately.”

The guard salutes, which Burt doesn’t seem to like, and she leaves. Then Burt turns to another guard. “Notify Gilbert that Blaine Anderson will rejoin the search party.” That guard also salutes and leaves. Burt slightly shakes his head during the salute. When she’s gone, Burt turns to yet another guard and says: “Arrange a private jet towards the search party.”

“Yessir!” she doesn’t salute, but she still nods stiffly.

Blaine feels a sense of relief. Burt is letting him go. Wes pats his back.

“Blaine, I can see how much you love my son,” Burt says, “But please, also think of yourself? A part of me is flattered that you are willing to die for Kurt, but you matter as well. I expect both of you to come home.”

Blaine nods. “Of course! I promise!”

Burt unpins the rainbow flag pin from his suit and he hands it to Blaine. “And know that I totally support your relationship.”

Blaine accepts the pin. He wants to say something to thank Burt, but he thinks the message has come across.

There has been a hint of Kurt in New Haven. Since this entire search party is being kept under the wraps, Blaine wasn’t told till he landed in New Haven.

Blaine hoped to see a glimpse of the mysterious Gilbert, but instead he is greeted by the other Warblers. After asking about him and Wes, they immediately go back to action.

There’s another flaw in the plan, namely the fact that Blaine has no idea what is going on. The others speak to him in a completely different language and they expect Blaine to understand their instructions.

He always gets the physique of his version of a dimension, but not the knowledge. It’s dark and cold and Blaine hates everything, but he doesn’t regret his choice to go here.

Jeff has filled Blaine in with all the information they got so far. They got two witness statements. They’re not very reliable, but they’re something. Not only that, but they found a brooch close to the river that belongs to Kurt.

Since Blaine has not ‘inherited’ the knowledge of his other version, he pretends to understand what David is saying when David shows him all the maps and high tech tracking stuff. The government really has eyes and ears everywhere, and for once, Blaine is grateful.

It’s close to midnight and there’s no sign of Kurt.

On the maps, David has zoomed in on a house and they’re keeping an eye on that one. According to Trent, the people around town have no idea why the place seems to be empty, and when there’s movement, they hear a lot of shouting. Trent sees that as something suspicious and a great place to hide.

David has hacked into camera’s close to the house. Is it considered hacking since it is not illegal? After all, it’s to save Kurt.

Although it is getting late. Others are moving around the area while David and some other dude that Blaine does not know are sitting in a van with his monitors. It feels like a cliché spy movie and Blaine had expected more of the government than a weird van, but it’s all there to help Kurt.

He can’t wait any longer. Blaine has to find Kurt.

He doesn’t ask for David’s approval. He leaves the van to go looking for Kurt himself. He knows others are already roaming the city, but Blaine can’t sit by and wait. After all, he’s gotten out of the hospital.

David calls out his name, but Blaine basically runs. He has no idea where he is, since he’s never been in New Haven. He doesn’t have his phone on him, since people like him aren’t allowed to have personal tech on the job, so he can’t look up where he is.

But he’s winging it.

It’s cold and dark and Blaine’s mind is focused on one thing: find Kurt.

He has no idea how to do that, though. All he can do is wander around aimlessly, since he has abandoned his only mean of support.

Gosh, he is so stupid. He is too busy being the hero to think rationally. Again.

Blaine curses himself and he decides to find his way back to David when he hears some branches snap. Blaine grabs for his gun (wow, he has a gun!), but then to his utter shock, Kurt comes out of hiding. He was hiding in some bushes. He looks awful. His clothes are ripped, his face is bruised, and there’s some rope tied around his wrist, but he’s here.

“… Blaine?” he asks, looking as disbelieved as Blaine.

“Kurt, love?” Blaine asks in shock.

The next thing he knows, he’s on the ground with Kurt on top of him. Kurt’s run towards him and he has tackled him to the ground. “It’s you!”

Blaine can feel Kurt’s tears falling on him and he’s tearing up as well. Kurt’s gotten free. Kurt’s with him here. Kurt is now hugging Blaine desperately while crying. Blaine wraps his arms around him and he pulls him closer.

“You got out?”

“I got out!”

“How?”

Kurt laughs weakly. “I don’t believe in miracles, sweetheart, but I don’t know how else to describe it.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, love.”

But Kurt shushes him. “That wasn’t you, Blaine. That was the version of you from this dimension.”

“I still feel responsible,” Blaine says sadly, “I know that I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but feel like I’ve failed you again. But then you once again proved to me that you don’t need saving.”

Kurt takes Blaine’s hand and he squeezes it. “You’re right. I don’t always need saving, but you know what kept me going these past hours?”

Blaine shakes his head.

“Knowing that wherever you are, you were looking for me,” Kurt says and he cups Blaine’s face, “Yes, I got away, but I knew that if I wouldn’t have gotten away, you would’ve found me. You’re always there for me, and knowing that I can rely on you keeps me going in life.”

Blaine can feel himself tear up all over again.

Kurt doesn’t always need saving, but that doesn’t mean that Blaine’s efforts are for nothing.

“I love you so much,” Blaine says.

“I love you too.”

David finds them and he also cries from relief when he sees that they’re both okay. He then notifies Burt and the rest of the rescue party to tell them that Kurt has been found. They want to bring Kurt to a hospital in New Haven, but Kurt demands to be taken to his father.

It’s no use protesting Kurt Hummel, especially when he’s the son of one of the most powerful men alive.

They’re on the first private jet to Washington D.C. and Burt personally welcomes Kurt back home. He cries the entire time and he does not want to let go of his son. Kurt cries as well. It doesn’t matter that they’re not technically each other’s family, since Kurt and his dad are close in every dimension.

Kurt gets all the medical care that he needs and Burt thanks Blaine for bringing Kurt back home. They both know that Blaine had no role in saving Kurt, but it still feels right. Blaine gets sent back to the hospital wing. He wants to stay with Kurt, but Burt assures him that he will see him soon.

In the hospital wing, a familiar object greets him. Someone’s put the book on the bed. Blaine had almost forgotten that he had asked for it. He doesn’t get time to look into it, because Wes is awake and chatty and he wants to know everything.

Blaine doesn’t remember falling asleep, but when he wakes up, Kurt’s lying in the bed next to his. He’s obviously been cared for.

Blaine wakes him up. They have to leave before Wes wakes up.

But then Kurt tells him to stay.

“What? Why?”

“What if the other Kurt returns and he doesn’t remember how he got away? I have to tell the detectives or whatever how I got away and what I saw,” Kurt answers sadly ,”I don’t know who took me, but I do remember what they look like. The Kurt from this dimension needs justice.”

So Blaine has to spend a huge chunk of the day listening to Kurt’s stories. Kurt talks about being moved from vehicle to vehicle. Kurt describes the ways these people have hurt him and Blaine feels the need to punch something. Kurt eventually tells them that he managed to find a way out. He was tied to a bed, but the bed was very old. He managed to break off the part of the bed where he was tied to. Then he got one hand free, but the men noticed it.

Luckily for Kurt, he now had a part of a steel bedframe and he managed to knock them down before they could reach for their guns.

After all, Kurt was not held in that house, which is the reason why the others didn’t find a thing after investigating the place after Kurt got found. The men could’ve woken up and gotten away, but thanks to Kurt’s quite detailed descriptions and his directions from the house to the bushes he was hiding in, others might be able to track them down.

During all the talking, Blaine is with him. No one bats an eyelash. Their relationship is no longer a secret. In fact, at one point, Burt comes in to tell Kurt and Blaine how much he approves and that he loves Kurt.

“I also found the book, Blaine,” Burt says, “It is really weird, but your detailed description of the book made it possible for me to find it in the White House of all places.”

Then, Burt gives them some time alone.

Wes wasn’t present. He wasn’t allowed to listen along, so Kurt and Blaine see it as a perfect moment to leave.

Kurt opens the book. One of the objects is unmistakably Burt’s rainbow pin. Blaine unpins it from his hospital robe and he puts in on the page.

The other object looks like a crooked line, but Kurt figures it out.

“It’s the rope,” he says.

“The rope?”

Kurt nods. “There was some rope around my wrist. I got rid of the piece of bedframe, but I couldn’t untie all of the rope. They cut it loose for me.”

“Where is it?” Blaine asks in panic. Do they have to break into some forensic lab?

But Kurt smiles. “It’s under my pillow.”

Blaine gives Kurt an incredulous look. “May I ask why the hell you decided to keep that shit?”

Kurt retrieves the rope and he puts it on the page. “It may represent something bad in your eyes and I get it. It is a reminder that someone held me captive, but I also see it as a reminder of my freedom. I got free. I got out. The rope has been cut up. It’s over.”

Blaine doesn’t really have a response towards that, so he just kisses Kurt’s cheek.

They watch the rope disappear and reappear as an image. Two new words start to form on the next page and Blaine can’t wait to get out of this hellhole.

‘Check, Please!’

“What is that supposed to mean?”