Weekend at Kurt's

How the hell did I forget my backpack? And why are the dorms so far away from the lot?

Thad was irritated with himself. He hated it when he forgot things in the dorms, though really, he didn't do it all that often. But he knew if he didn't bring his homework with him now, there was no way it was getting done Sunday night when he got back. He didn't have a whole lot to do, but he would rather get it done tonight and in the morning so he could enjoy the whole weekend.

He knew Blaine hadn't left yet - his car was still in his spot - so he figured he didn't need to have his room key out. He was beyond surprised to see that their room was locked. He saw Wes and David leaving their respective rooms and asked if they had seen Blaine leave yet.

"We said goodbye earlier during the chaos. He said he was going to wait for the underclassmen to leave before venturing out, considering most of them can't drive yet and they were waiting for rides. Why?" David asked.

"Our door's locked...maybe I did that when I left the room earlier? I dunno," said Thad, as he unlocked the door. "Hey Blaine - you here?"

Wes and David poked their heads into the room and noticed the same thing Thad had: no sign of Blaine.

"He must've left already, Thad. His bag's gone," said Wes.

"His car is in the lot," Thad looked at the desk, "and here's his keys. How else would he go home if not by his car?"

They looked at each other for a moment before all three of them pulled out their cell phones.

"Wait - if all three of us call at the same time, none of us will get through. Maybe he hitched a ride with Nick and Jeff. Nick's not that far from his house and Blaine probably wanted company." Leave it to Wes to be the voice of reason.

"That's a possibility, but I doubt Blaine will be able to get into his house without his key. His parents probably aren't even home yet," said David.

"If they bothered to remember that he even had a break," mumbled Thad.

The boys sighed, before deciding to try calling Blaine to see where he was. David put the phone of speaker and they heard it ring three times before they heard, "Hello?"

"Blaine it's David, Wes, and Thad...where are you? Your car and keys are here and you're not."

"Oh I had a change of plans. Kurt invited me to his house. We're in his car on the way to Lima. Didn't make sense to take both cars."

"Your parents forgot, didn't they?"

"Yeah. Kurt found out and took it upon himself to kidnap me, with his father's insistence. I wasn't going to say anything to you guys - you all already had plans and I didn't want to get in the way."

"We've told you before that you're welcome to come over to any of our places, but I'm sure you'll have a great time with Kurt. What are you two gonna do?"

"A little of this, a little of that...we're gonna probably watch movies and lounge, maybe go shopping? I dunno. But I'm fine. Go enjoy your weekend."

"Alright. Tell Kurt we said 'hi' and we'll see you both on Sunday."

"Okay Dad, thanks. Bye."

David closed his phone and laughed at the looks on the others' faces. It truly was hard to believe that Blaine actually left Dalton to go to another person's house. Usually he stayed at the school unless they were told to go home because the school would be locked down for maintenance or something.

"At least we know he's in good hands. Kurt will take care of him."

"Why can't he just tell us when his parents do crap like this? His mother actually promised him weeks ago they'd be in town. This is bull."

Wes responded, "Because that's how Blaine is, you know that, Thad. At least we know where he is, and it's not like we have to worry about him - he's with Kurt."

"Five bucks says they get together by Thanksgiving."

"I don't think so...I mean yeah, they definitely look cute together, but I don't see them becoming boyfriends for some time yet. I'll bet for Christmas."

"David! You can't just bet on our friends like that!"

David rolled his eyes at Wes. "And why not? It's going to happen eventually; even you have to admit to that."

"I'm not disputing that, David, but do you have to bet money on it?"

"If it makes you feel better, we won't...okay?" asked Thad.

"It does. Thank you. Now, I have to go - I promised to pick up Becky from Crawford."

"Alright then. See you later Wes."

"Bye guys."

As soon as Wes turned down the stairs, Thad and David looked at each other.

"So...five bucks?"

"You're on."

Blaine started to get nervous as they got closer to Kurt's house. He'd been there a couple of times already, and he'd survived talking to Burt already, so why was he freaking out? Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't really spoken to Carole all that much, or Finn for that matter. Or maybe it was because it wasn't just a quick visit, but three days? Blaine was beginning to panic when Kurt had had enough.

"Stop freaking out, Blaine. Dad likes you, Carole likes you, and if you start talking football to Finn, he'll like you too, but you won't have to worry about him til tomorrow. You'll be fine and we're going to have a great weekend."

Blaine looked at Kurt and noticed the little smirk on his face. "You seem real sure about that. What if I do something stupid or make a fool of myself or Finn wants to hurt me or -"

Kurt had thankfully pulled into his driveway by this point. He parked, turned off the car, and turned to face Blaine.

"You are worrying over nothing. They are going to love you. I don't know if you've realized this, but you are quite the charmer. Dad already approves of you, and although you haven't really interacted with Carole, even Dad mentioned she likes your 'dapper charm'. Finn and the rest of the guys approve of you too. So you have nothing to worry about, got that?"

Blaine nodded, "I got it. Sorry."

Kurt smiled and grasped his hand, "You're cute when you're worried. I'm going to borrow a line from you, and then we're going into the house: Courage."

Blaine stared for a moment and then started to laugh, "You are the only person that can get me to stop spazing over little stuff."

"Yes, well that's what I'm here for...ready to go inside?"

"Dad? Carol?"

"In the kitchen."

"Be there in a minute." Kurt proceeded to put his stuff down by the front door. "Blaine, just leave your stuff here. We'll bring it to my room later. Dinner is probably ready."

The boys left their stuff in the living room and made their way into the kitchen. Blaine was taking in the house, and was surprised to feel how homey it felt; though he could tell it wasn't done yet. Kurt looked around himself. He hadn't been gone long but he already felt bad for not being able to help get the house in order before leaving for Dalton. They entered the kitchen just in time to see Carole put food on the table.

"Hello boys, hope you're hungry."

"For food that smells that good, definitely."

"Why thank you, Blaine. You two go ahead and sit down. I just need to grab one more thing." Carole moved toward the stairs. "Burt! Kurt and Blaine are here and dinner's ready. It's safe to come down now."

Kurt laughed while Blaine just looked confused. "My dad is a hazard in the kitchen. Better than Finn, mind you, but not by much. Carole and I do the real cooking around here."

"Good to know," Blaine replied as Burt came down the stairs.

Burt pulled Kurt into a tight hug before saying, "It's good to see you home, kid. We miss you around here," before turning to Blaine and saying, "it's good to see you too, Blaine. I'm glad you came."

"I was under the impression that I had to come or else," he said with a smile, "It's good to see you both again as well, sir."

"None of that 'sir' stuff. Burt is fine." Everyone sat down and dinner was served. Blaine had taken a few bites and couldn't resist making a comment about it.

"This is fantastic, Mrs. Hudson-Hummel. Chicken and rice is one of my favorite dishes."

"Thank you Blaine, and Carole is fine, or Mrs. H works too. That's what most of the boys use."

Blaine was blown away by Burt and Carole at dinner. He had only been hoping to be included in the conversation, but he never expected to be asked questions like 'how was school', 'do you enjoy being a Warbler', and 'has Kurt driven you crazy yet'. His parents never cared enough to ask, and for two people who barely knew him to ask him how his day was...it was awesome.

Kurt had noticed that Blaine seemed overwhelmed, but in a good way, so in order to keep him calm, he grabbed his hand under the table and gave a gentle squeeze. Blaine sent a smile Kurt's way to show he got the message. Soon enough, everyone was finished eating, and Burt was curious about the boys' plans.

"So what are you two going to do all weekend? If you're planning on having a movie marathon, most of them haven't been unpacked yet."

Kurt looked at Blaine before answering, "Haven't figured that out yet, Dad, although Blaine has offered to help me get my bedroom situated - I know for sure that all of my stuff is still in boxes. My radio was the first thing I unpacked, so we can listen to music while we do that."

"That'd be great, Kurt. I know how excited you were to decorate. It's a shame you weren't able to get anything done before you transferred. I bet your dorm looks better than your bedroom right now. Do you know what you have in mind?"

Kurt replied, "I made a sketch of what I want to do. It was a nice break in between all of the catch-up work I was doing. I'm actually really excited to finally start attending classes on Monday. If I have to look at one more packet, I don't know what I'll do."

Blaine grinned before saying, "And just think: not only do you start classes, but your first official Warbler practice is on Tuesday."

Carole was about to ask something when the phone rang. She got up to answer it, saw who it was on the caller id and handed the phone to Burt.

"Hey Kevin, how's it goi-"

"BURT! I don't know what to do!"

Even though the phone wasn't on speaker, everyone else could hear the panic through the phone. Kurt reacted faster than Burt was expecting and grabbed the phone.

"Kevin - it's Kurt. You need to stop yelling and tell me what's going on. Otherwise I'll hang up."

"No, I'm sorry, please don't hang up."

"Take a breath and then tell me what's wrong." While Kurt was on the phone, Blaine looked at Burt and Carole with a puzzled look on his face. Burt was focused on Kurt, so Carole spoke to Blaine.

"Kevin works at the shop with Burt. From my understanding, Kevin was a pseudo-big brother when Kurt was younger. Kevin's wife Laura is pregnant with their first, and he's been on baby alert for the last two weeks. When he gets hysterical like this, Kurt can usually get him to make sense."

While Carole explained that to Blaine, Kevin paused long enough to show he was listening to Kurt, before calmly trying again. "Laura's been in a lot of pain today, so she stayed in bed. She said she actually felt a little better, and then had a really bad contraction and her water broke. Now I'm freaking out and she's not and I don't know what I'm doing!"

Kurt rolled his eyes, "First of all, she's the one having the baby, and you're not helping by panicking. Go get a drink of water, but put Laura on the phone first."

There was noise on the phone to show he was complying before a female voice came on the phone.

"Kurt, you're one of the few that can make that man calm down. What did you say to him?"

"Told him to take a second. How far apart are the contractions?"

"About 10 minutes or so. I didn't think I was in labor, but my back's been bothering me all day and I was miserable, which has been the norm for a while now...I didn't think it was anything worse."

"Don't worry about it. That's normal for first time moms - you know that. Now, are the two of you dressed? Your hospital bag packed?"

"Yes, and yes - it's in the closet. Ow- that one wasn't 10 minutes."

"Trust me, you're doing fine. Now, put that husband of yours back on the phone. You'll do great, and I expect pictures tomorrow."

Laura laughed on the line, before Kevin took over again. "...hi Kurt."

"Have you calmed down a little now? It's time for you to man up and get your wife to the hospital...unless you plan on delivering your daughter yourself."

"I don't think I could handle doing that."

"Then this is what you're going to do. Get the bag out of the closet, get Laura and get in the car. The sooner you get to the hospital, the sooner you two get to meet your daughter. Can you handle that, or should I call an ambulance for you?"

"No I can do all that...are you sure you're only 17? You sound old."

"It's called maturity, which makes me wonder if you ever finished going through it. Now don't worry about your shifts - we'll take care of it. Just worry about yourselves and keep us posted. Understood?"

"Aye, aye Captain...thanks Kurt."

Kurt hung up the phone and started laughing at the look on Blaine's face. "What?"

"Nothing. So I take it that was a first-time dad freaking out?"

"Freaking out is an understatement, but they'll be fine. If she has to, Laura knows how to smack some sense into him - literally." Kurt looked at his father and asked, "You want me to call Rob and let him know? He's this weekend's standby for Kevin."

"I got it. I'll be right back." Burt took the phone into the other room to call Rob, one of their younger mechanics, to let him know he was working for sure. Carole was laughing to herself before saying to Kurt, "It's a shame you weren't around when I had Finn. Christopher actually fainted before we even got to the hospital. Luckily one of my girlfriends was able to drive us in because he was useless for most of the delivery."

"Seriously?"

Carole nodded, "Just because he was an army guy, doesn't mean he couldn't be a typical dad. Almost seems like a rite of passage or something. You're not considered a father-to-be until you have that initial mini-freak out. I know not all fathers do that, but from my experience that's what usually happens."

Burt walked back into the room a few minutes later, and sat down with a sigh.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Rob is fine working Saturday and Sunday, but he can't work tomorrow. Apparently that in-service day is for everyone. He has to watch his siblings, since his parents are working. Most of the other guys are already either working or can't, and because of the in-service day, we're booked tomorrow with appointments, many of them with kids tagging along."

Blaine was trying to keep up with conversation, "Is it bad when kids tag along?"

Kurt saw that Blaine was getting lost in the conversation again. "We have a section of the shop set up as a waiting area, which is really only used when we have families come that have to hang around. When we have days like this, usually I go and help out at the shop. Sometimes I hang with the kids and watch Disney movies, and sometimes I'm working on cars. It's just something that keeps the kids occupied and their parents and other customers in a good mood."

"Can we help then? I can help out with the kids and you can help your dad on the cars. We have the whole weekend anyway, right? Besides, I'd love to see you get dirty."

Kurt's jaw dropped while Burt and Carole out-right laughed. "I don't even know how to respond to that."

Blaine just smirked and turned to Burt. "What do you think? You can use the help, and it's only for tomorrow, right? I'd volunteer to help in the shop, but my knowledge of cars is a little lacking. Watching Disney on the other hand..."

Kurt, in the meantime, had finally regained his composure. "He's right, Dad. While his car smarts aren't the best, he's a Disney expert. You won't need us the whole day, probably just late morning to the afternoon. What do you say?"

Burt looked at Kurt and Blaine, before looking at Carole. "What do you think?"

Carole replied, "Looks like you boys are spending the day at the garage."

Kurt and Blaine retrieved their stuff from the living room and headed upstairs to Kurt's bedroom. The spare bed and sheets were in the hallway already. Kurt opened the door and sighed before throwing himself on the bed and burrowing his head into the pillow.

"So, I take it you missed your bed?" said Blaine as he looked around. It was clear by the amount of boxes that Kurt really hadn't unpacked much.

"Oh, shut up. But since you asked, yes, as a matter of fact I did." Kurt got off the bed and motioned for Blaine to put his stuff down on the floor at the end of the bed. "There's really a lot of room in here, just cluttered at the moment. Best part is that I have my own bathroom, which is through that door over there. We'll bring the spare bed in here once I move some of these boxes out of the way. I do know where the movies are, if you wanna watch one."

"That sounds fine. What time do we need to get up tomorrow?"

"Well Dad said we could come in around 9:30 and he'll try his best to get us out by 3:30, 4 at the latest...is that okay? We can get up between 8 and 8:30, have some breakfast and go over then."

They eventually cleared a space, set up the spare bed, and dressed in some pajamas. They were both debating on what to watch, when they heard a knock on the door.

"Goodnight boys, I've got the late shift tonight. See you in the morning."

Kurt and Blaine said goodnight and settled down to watch a movie, not realizing how close and comfortable they looked. They didn't make it to the end before falling asleep. Burt checked on them when he came upstairs and was surprised at the sight he found.

Kurt, who still had a lingering hesitation to any physical contact, was snuggled against Blaine like he was meant to be there. Blaine was laying with his chest to Kurt's back and was holding him tight. What shocked Burt the most was Kurt's face.

He hadn't looked that peaceful and relaxed in a long time.

Burt knew that Blaine was good for Kurt, but if the matching look of calm on Blaine's face was anything to go by, Kurt was good for Blaine too. And that was fine with him.

"Kurt, why are you in such a hurry to get to the shop?"

"Because one of my favorite people is bringing in her friend's car today and she's bringing her baby. You don't understand - she is the cutest thing and she's only six months old. She's gonna be a real heartbreaker."

Blaine saw how Kurt was bouncing in his seat and thought it was actually really funny, and cute. "Why is this person a favorite of yours?"

"Her name is Claudette, and she was born and raised in France. She came here five years ago as part of a study abroad program, met her sweetheart - Peter- and moved here. She's fluent in French, but still has a hard time with English. We spend a lot of time talking about anything and everything when she comes to get her car done. It's really thanks to her that I speak French so well. She finally convinced her friend to bring her car in AND she promised to bring Madeline with her."

"The baby's name is Madeline? Like the book with the little girl?"

"Yep."

"Cool. Can't wait to meet them. So you're the translator then?"

"Not so much anymore, though she's more confident speaking in French. Besides, she mentioned her friend speaks it too, so that could be a lot of fun. Did I mention that Claudette knows some Italian too?"

Blaine perked up at that. "Really? That would be fun. And if you're in the shop, I get to play with Madeline."

Kurt pouted, "Aww...well, as long as I get to hold her before I start working, that'll be fine."

Blaine rolled his eyes as Kurt pulled up to the garage.

"Claudette, I thought we were going to that place by my house."

"No Katelyn. This place is better. Besides, I want to introduce you to Burt's son. He speaks French like you wouldn't believe. He is very talented."

"Well I've just acquired a new junior tutor that is spectacular. He hasn't officially started yet, but he's helped several of my boys already."

"It'd be funny if your new student and my mechanic were the same person, no?"

"The world isn't that small, mon amie."

Burt was waiting for the first few appointments to show while Kurt got Blaine situated in the waiting room area. He saw a blue car pull up that he didn't recognize, but when the driver stepped out, he grinned. Kurt wasn't the only one excited to see Madeline. He yelled back into the shop for Kurt to come to the front, and after hearing a 'be there in a minute', walked out to say hi.

"Bonjour Claudette. Long time no see."

"Bonjour Burt. Comment vas-tu?"

"Doing well. Kurt and a friend of his are helping out today; he'll be here in a minute. Kevin and Laura finally had the baby this morning."

"Finalement! Tell them I said félicitations."

"I'm guessing that means congrats?"

"Oui, it does. I knew you could pick up a few things." Claudette walked to the other side of the car where Katelyn had just pulled Madeline out. "Oh, this is my friend, Katelyn Moreau. Katelyn, this is Burt Hummel. He owns the garage and is very helpful."

"Wait a second - Hummel? Do you have son named Kurt?"

Burt didn't have to answer before Kurt came outside and ran straight for Claudette. He gave her a hug and immediately asked for Madeline, completely missing his teacher standing there, until -

"Kurt?"

"Madame Moreau?"

Burt saw the looks of shock on their faces and asked how they knew each other.

Katelyn spoke up first, "I don't know why I didn't put it together before. I'm the French teacher at Dalton. I just met with Kurt yesterday to go over the tutoring job. I had no idea you lived all the way out here, and I thought my half-hour drive was a hassle."

"That's why he boards during the week. I suppose this is when I say enchanté, right?"

"Not bad, Dad." Kurt turned to Claudette, "Can I see her now... s'il vous plaît?"

Claudette rolled her eyes before pulling Madeline out of the car seat and handing her off to Kurt. "Oh look how big she's getting! By the way, if you need a babysitter, don't hesitate to ask."

Burt wasn't surprised that Kurt was a natural with Madeline. He had a lot of experience babysitting all of the kids and most of the grandkids of everyone at the shop at some point over the last few years. That, and he was definitely good at taking care of others. None of them noticed Blaine come outside until he spoke.

"Hey Kurt, the VCR seems to hate me - Madame Moreau?"

"Bonjour Blaine." She turned to Claudette and said, "I stand corrected: le monde est petit, après tout."

Eventually, Burt told Kurt that there was work to be done and he had to hand over the baby. Claudette reclaimed her daughter - with protests from both Kurt and Madeline - and promised Kurt a babysitting day. Kurt pouted but swapped Madeline for her car key, asking Blaine to kindly escort the ladies to the waiting area. Madeline seemed interested in Blaine for some reason, and had no problems going from Claudette to Blaine.

Blaine entertained the trio and several other customers that showed up throughout the day. Some were dropping off, some were picking up, and some came with kids that headed straight for Blaine. Kurt checked on him when he could to see how he was making out. Whenever Blaine was free, he found Kurt and watched in amazement as he worked on car after car. Before either of them knew it, Burt told them they were free to go and enjoy their weekend.

"I don't know how to thank you both for helping out today. It's almost 3:30, and we're starting to slow down. Why don't you two head home? I'm sure you can find something to do. I'll be home by six."

Kurt decided to change out of his overalls before leaving, telling Blaine to go ahead to the car. When Blaine was out of sight, Burt pulled his son to the side.

"Something wrong, Dad?"

"Not wrong, just curious about something. How'd you sleep last night?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow before asking why.

"I went to say goodnight to you last night, and I just wasn't expecting the sight I got when I opened your bedroom door."

Kurt blushed and dropped his head a little. "Oh? What sight was that?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about. I figured I'd talk to you without Blaine nearby - didn't want to embarrass both of you at the same time."

"Gee, thanks. We got the spare bed set up, but decided to watch a movie first. We must have gotten too comfortable on my bed; I know we didn't finish the movie. It was a little awkward for us waking up this morning - we didn't realize how close we slept...I'm sorry."

Burt shook his head, "Don't be sorry, Kurt. I only ask because you looked so peaceful last night. I haven't seen you sleep that well in a long time."

Kurt gave him a little smile, "I don't think I've slept that well in a long time either. Blaine said the same thing about himself."

"As long you're both aware of each other's feelings and no one is being forced or uncomfortable, that's all that matters. Just keep an eye for Finn, though. I know you've both gotten past the whole 'new brothers' phase, but seeing the two of you cuddle may be too much for him, at least at this stage of the game. But I'll ask one more thing before I let you go. Do you have feelings for Blaine?"

Oh you have to be kidding me- did he really just ask that? "What do you mean Dad? We're still 'sorta new' friends. Don't you think that would be rushing things a bit?"

"Humor me."

Kurt sighed, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't like him. There's an attraction there, for sure, but you don't have anything to worry about. I'm not exactly looking for a boyfriend right now."

"And if that's how you feel, then that's fine. But honestly - if he's worth it, don't let him go. He's good for you and whether you've noticed it or not, you're good for him too. I'd hate to see both of you lose out on something incredible. Just remember you mean the world to me, and if you two stay friends or become something more, I'm cool with it."

Burt was rewarded with a quick hug, which was unexpected. "Thanks Dad...I should probably get going before Blaine starts to wonder where I am. See you at home."

"Alright. Remember what I said."

I officially have the best dad ever...although if he pulls out pamphlets and wants to give me 'the talk' or something equally embarrassing, I may need to reconsider.

The rest of the weekend went by quickly after that. Surprisingly enough, between getting home from the shop on Friday and all day Saturday, Kurt's room became boxless and clutter-free. They did homework on Sunday and even played some video games with Finn. Before long, it was time for them to pack up to return to Dalton.

"Dude, do you really have to leave now? You're kicking ass in this game."

"Yes Finnegan. Curfew is 9:30, and we still have to drive back."

Finn groaned, "Please don't call me that."

Kurt retaliated, "Then do not call me 'dude'. Just keep that in mind every time you want to."

"Can I respond to that by saying I was talking to Blaine?"

Finn received a look in return.

"Yeah, I'll just shut up now. Don't be a stranger - I know that you know how to text. You coming back next weekend?"

"Depends on school. I finally attend classes tomorrow, as well as tutoring, and we both have Sectionals coming up, too. I'm certainly gonna try though."

"I forgot about all that. Good luck with that and let me know how it goes."

"I will Finn, thanks. Blaine, you ready to go?"

Blaine held up his stuff. "Ready whenever you are."

Finn hated to see them go. He didn't really get to hang with them as much as he wanted to, but he did help them with Kurt's room, mainly with moving furniture. Playing video games was Kurt's way of saying thanks, but it was a total surprise to Finn that Kurt knew how to play as well as he did.

The Dalton boys put their stuff in the car before saying goodbye to Burt and Carole. After the typical 'keep us in the loop' and a reminder to Blaine to come over whenever, they were in the car. Before pulling out of the driveway, Kurt popped a couple of pills before drinking out of a water bottle. Blaine looked on in concern.

"That headache still there?"

"Not as bad as before. It's more of a general ache at the moment. I didn't want Dad to see me taking anything and worrying." Blaine just stared back at Kurt. "Really, Blaine, I'm fine. Although I still feel tired, I haven't felt this good in a while. I know it doesn't make sense, but it's probably all the physical stuff this weekend. I hadn't worked in the garage for almost a month, and what with putting my room together, it's no wonder I feel like a mess. I'll be fine in the morning."

"If you say so...not that I believe you."

"I know you don't, but thanks for caring. Now, it's your turn to pick some music. What do you -"

Kurt didn't get to finish before Blaine popped a cd in. Kurt just rolled his eyes as the music started up:

You think I'm pretty without any make-up on

You think I'm funny when I tell the punch line wrong

I know you get me, so I let my walls come down, down

"This is payback, I'm assuming." Kurt had put on Lady Gaga on the way to Lima, to some minor protest from Blaine.

"You know what happens when you assume..."

"It's a good thing you're cute, Anderson."

Blaine ignored Kurt and picked up the song by the time the chorus started.

You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream

The way you turn me on, I can't sleep

Let's runaway and don't ever look back

Don't ever look back