Kurt Hummel was gone. There had been no trace of him since he vanished off the streets of New York in May 2011. It was now mid December of 2011 and the Hummel family were beside themselves. It had been just under seven months. Seven months since Kurt had been abducted. He had gone to New York to participate in the Show Choir National Championship where he was a member of the New Directions. It was also his first time in the Big Apple. Kurt had never made it to Nationals and the New Directions lost; mainly to do with the fact they were all devastated about Kurt but the fact Finn and Rachel kissed mid performance caused them to lose brownie points. The police had been called immediately after the Glee club realised Kurt had disappeared thanks to his boyfriend Blaine Anderson. It didn't matter how quickly the police came and were out looking for Kurt. There was no trace of him at all and only a few people had come forward to say they had seen him on the phone outside the hotel he was staying in. One man told the police he saw the men approach Kurt but didn't think anything of it as he was in a hurry as he was late for work. The case was still open but the chances of finding Kurt alive was decreasing more time passed by.

Burt Hummel had been a little apprehensive about letting his son and stepson go to New York. He had understood that Kurt wanted to go there for college but that had been over a year away. Kurt was only a seventeen year old with no experience outside of Ohio. Burt didn't want to stop his son from competing in his singing competition; especially after the year he had had with the bullying, the death threats and being voted Prom Queen by secret ballot. Burt had thought going to New York with his friends would have been good for his son. How wrong he had been! He would have preferred some parental supervision in New York as he knew what the New Directions were like; running around New York singing if they got the chance. Burt, however, had trusted Will Schuester to look after Kurt, Finn and the others, stopping them from getting into too much trouble. When Burt had received a phone call from a hysterical Finn, crying about a missing Kurt, he felt as if he was having another heart attack. He immediately flew to New York with Carole, praying that Kurt had just gotten lost in the big city and that he would be found. He just wanted his son home. Burt had gone to the hotel where his son had last been seen. He walked down the alleyway, frantically searching for clues. He spotted the small pool of dried blood that he had been told was Kurt's. He tried to ignore the images rushing through his mind of his little boy being dragged through the alley, trying frantically to get free and call for help. Burt had demanded to know where Will Schuester had been when everything had been going on. Finn told him that he had gone to fill in some paperwork for Nationals but eventually the truth came out that Mr Schue had gone to oversee his secret Broadway show with April Rhodes that he was leaving the New Directions for. Burt had been furious and had to be physically restrained from beating Will to a pulp. He knew that even if Will had been there, Kurt would have still gone downstairs to phone Blaine but he was so furious and just needed someone to blame. Burt just wanted his little boy home and safe. He was the last link he had to his dead wife Elizabeth and he couldn't bear the thought that he was fatherless as well.

Finn had been shocked to receive a call from Blaine when he knew his little brother was supposed to be on the phone with him downstairs in the hotel lobby. He put down his sandwich and answered the phone. When Blaine had told him about the voicemail Kurt had left with him crying out for help and demanding to be released, Finn felt physically sick. He rallied all of the New Directions to look for Kurt and hoped to God that it was just a joke, meaning Kurt was fine and safe. When there was no sign of Kurt and Santana came out of the alley with tears trailing down her face, he knew there was no hope. Santana showed him the broken phone on the ground; with a picture of Blaine and Kurt on the cracked screen from Prom looking so happy together. She also pointed out the pool of blood that was obviously recent. Finn had to quickly look away or risk throwing up everywhere. He knew that it was Kurt's blood on the floor and was suddenly terrified of what had happened to his little brother. Finn hated having to tell Blaine about what had been found in the place he told them to look. He just hated the entire situation. He was deeply disappointed in Mr Schue, someone he thought he could always look up to and respect. He could have forgiven Mr Schue for leaving the New Directions for Broadway but he couldn't forgive him for not being there when his little brother had been snatched from the right in front of the hotel. None of the New Directions were happy with Mr Schue for what had happened. Like Burt, they all knew it wouldn't have made a difference to whether Kurt had been taken or not but they just wanted to put the blame on someone. Rachel was furious at the teacher but Finn suspected it was partly due to the fact he had got a role on Broadway as well. The New Directions wasn't the same. They all missed Kurt so much and couldn't believe they didn't know whether he was still even alive. No one had the desire to sing songs and try to recruit new members. Eventually Finn told the group they'd continue in Kurt's honour as he wouldn't want them to stop spreading the joy of music into the world.

Blaine had decided to tell Kurt he loved him for the first time when his boyfriend got back from New York. He had been annoyed when Wes hung up on Kurt and wouldn't give him the phone back. When he heard the voicemail left by Kurt, he thought his heart had been broken. When the news was confirmed by Finn he felt as if his heart was broken into millions of pieces unable to be put back together until he saw for himself that Kurt Hummel, the boy he loved so much, was safe and sound. Blaine couldn't grasp the fact that he didn't know where Kurt was. He couldn't quite believe that his Kurt was out in the world somewhere and he didn't know where. Blaine refused to believe Kurt was dead. He had told Burt this and said there was always hope. Burt had hugged Blaine and thanked him for giving him some hope. All of the Warblers were devastated by the disappearance of the ex Warbler. Wes had become a shadow of his former self as he felt so guilty. He couldn't believe he had hung up on Kurt when Blaine and Kurt were speaking. He thought that if he hadn't, they would have known what was happening to Kurt immediately and someone could have phoned a member of the New Directions to save Kurt. No matter what anyone said, Wes refused to let go of the guilt. Blaine eventually had to sit him down one day and explain to him that he wasn't angry at him at all for hanging up on Kurt and explained that as they had the voicemail saved; it had helped the police a lot. Wes still wouldn't forgive him but seemed to accept that the voicemail was good as it helped the police. There was a new Warbler who joined in the September, four months after Kurt's disappearance, going by the name of Sebastian Smythe. He had immediately started hitting on Blaine to his annoyance. When Blaine told Sebastian there was no way he'd ever be interested because he was in love with someone, Sebastian simply replied that they'd never have to know. Blaine continued to tell Sebastian that the boy he loved was Kurt Hummel, the boy who had gone missing in New York, and there was no way he could ever love another. Sebastian just smirked at the heartbroken boy and told him he should move as Kurt had either moved on himself or was dead. The result of that conversation ended up with Sebastian having a black eye. After that Sebastian never said a bad word about Kurt again and offered his condolences to Blaine and the Warblers who knew Kurt.

When senior year came around for the majority of the New Directions, they were all saddened to know that Kurt wouldn't be there with them. It just didn't feel right to them. Rachel couldn't believe that her best Gay wasn't there to apply to colleges with her. She had heard about NYADA in New York, which she was sure she would have gone to with Kurt, but now she wasn't even sure if she wanted to return to New York, to the past she lost her best friend. Mr Schuester did his best to encourage the New Directions but none of them were particularly happy with him; even after the summer. Sue Sylvester took every opportunity she could to tear him down; reminding him what a terrible teacher he was to leave a group of children on their own in the big city and how he should be fired. Burt Hummel had tried to get him fired but in the end decided against it, knowing Kurt wouldn't have wanted for that to happen. The Warblers and the New Directions had become closer due to the unfortunate events and often held a joint practice; swapping here Dalton and McKinley. They all came together to honour Kurt. Blaine had thought about transferring to McKinley but had come to the conclusion that he would be miserable there without Kurt; at least at Dalton he had the support of the Warblers.

When December rolled around, it just filled everyone with despair. It would be the first Christmas without Kurt in their lives. Blaine had been working on a ring made out of wrappers that he would give to Kurt if he ever came back. He was just praying for a Christmas miracle. Burt was finding things to occupy his time such as running for Congressman and winning the election. He wasn't sure whether he won due to his views or the fact he was the father of a missing child. He tried to ignore the latter and focus on the fact he was a Congressman. Carole travelled to Washington DC with Burt to keep him company as she was worried about him after Kurt's disappearance. He had already suffered through one heart attack and if he didn't look after himself properly, he could have another heart attack. Finn was doing his best to guide the New Directions through a terrible time. He missed Kurt so much and just wanted him home. Everyone did.

Kurt was constantly on the mind of everyone who loved him. They didn't know where he was or what had happened to him. They just wanted him safe and to come home.