In the end, it was Kurt who did the majority of the work prom night - riding Blaine through both their orgasms. Blaine would swear up and down that that was the best medicine any doctor could have ordered.

Blaine also worked his butt off at physical therapy. He and Quinn had a bet between them about who would be able to do the hard dance moves in glee club first, and besides that, he just couldn't stand having to be so reliant on everyone else for help for every little thing. He always had Kurt, or another member of Glee club at his side - even when he needed to go to the bathroom. Part of it was the need for physical support, the other part of it was the need to be supported by numbers.

Because of all the shit Blaine had pulled in the past on different students, his reduced ability to retaliate right now meant that students could get their revenge on him more easily. Sam had heard the hockey team talking about it prior to Blaine's return, and so now he was accompanied everywhere so the hockey players and anyone else who dared try to hurt Blaine wouldn't get the chance. That didn't stop some of them from making threatening eyes at Blaine in the halls, but Blaine could return those just as easily as they gave them.

As soon as he could, he would be punching a few of those idiots.

Burt and Carole had managed to hold off his having to deal with the police and social services as long as they could while Blaine was recovering, but eventually he had to discuss the circumstances of his attack with both of those parties and had his statement taped so the judge could, hopefully, spare him from having to attend a trial. The belief was that it might be too traumatic for Blaine to attend, and despite Blaine feeling that he could handle it, he was not opposed to playing the part of the conflicted young man in order to evade the trial.

His dad, it seemed, was in a lot of shit.

Not only had he beaten Blaine, but he had attacked his girlfriend, and now, they had discovered, he had cheated on his taxes and committed some kind of fraud.

Cooper was initially hesitant to give Blaine a lot of details, but with consistent pressing, he finally admitted to Blaine that it had been discovered that not only had their father been cheating the system, but he had been doing it for years. He was up to his neck in debts too - mostly owed to persons with gag affiliations.

In addition, they discovered that their mother had never truly been in the United States legally. She had been brought here, by their dad, and been using fake identification their dad had gotten for her to stay and work in the USA. When Blaine's case has initially been opened up by social services, that was one of the things that had been discovered which explained now why she was back in the Philippines.

Apparently giving birth to two children and spending the last thirty years in a country didn't make someone any more a citizen in the minds of the United States government.

It was the foundation of many conversations Blaine had with his older brother, who was temporarily staying in town, though in a nearby hotel, while the case was pursued and while Blaine was getting better. Blaine never admitted directly why he had gone to the old house, but he assumed Cooper had somehow found out because his brother was always awfully guilty in his presence and always trying to help him out.

Cooper had even told his agent to forgo scheduling him in for anything in the next little while. Something completely unheard of when it came to Cooper.

If only Blaine could stop Kurt from getting all giddy around Cooper. No matter how much Cooper was around, Kurt was always still starstruck around him, and openly oggled the elder Anderson boy.

"Cooper, could you perhaps... maybe... stop looking so good 'round Kurt?" Blaine asked directly one day.

Cooper perked up and looked particularly amused as he glanced back to Blaine, "What? Your boyfriend is lusting after me?"

"Ugh...." Blaine didn't even want to think about it in that way.

"Can't blame him really - OW!"

Blaine was better enough to have the strength to throw a couch pillow at Cooper then and there.

Cooper had also been trying to get in contact with their mother, mostly by using some of his better established contacts in the entertainment business to try and directly message their mother at the family home in the Philippines. It was, however, a less direct method that finally garnered a response.

A letter had been sent by social services updating Mrs. Anderson on the status of her younger son, which had been forwarded to family in the Philippines with an address that had delivered it to their mother. She had sent a response, which Cooper read to Blaine the day it arrived.

Dear Blaine,

I am sorry for everything. I am sorry for it all. I can not hope to make up to you what I've done and allowed to happen. I have no excuses. The doctors here say I can be treated for my problems. I see my problems though as the result of the sins I have committed against you and I should suffer through them as penance.

And while I do not agree with you living a sodomous life, I pray that you are happy. I do not intend to fight for my citizenship. I am where I belong now, and where I have purpose.

Perhaps in the future we will both be well enough to be mother and son once more.

Your loving Mother.

"It's shit." Cooper said, tossing the papers to the side as he finished.

Blaine felt cold. On one hand, it was as much of an apology and acknowledgement of wrongdoing as he was going to get, on the other hand, it was another clear swipe at his sexuality and that he was partially at fault for what had happened in her eyes.

He had hoped for more.

He had always hoped for more.

He wasn't going to get it.

"Am I really that unlovable?" He asked that night, sitting up in bed while Kurt inspected his bandages on his back.

He felt Kurt stop behind him, then shuffle around on the bed until they were face to face, "Was this because of your mother's letter?"

Blaine nodded once.

"Do you believe that I love you?"

He nodded again.

"You're not unlovable. You just got dealt a bad hand when it came to parents."

Blaine took in a breath, nodded for the third time, and then asked.

"Do you think I shouldn't have kids because of them?"

"Why would you say that?"

Blaine cast his gaze down to his lap, looking at his hands which were blemished with various scars. "Because... what if I end up like them? I don't want kids who feel the way I do about them... about me."

Soft hands were placed on each of Blaine's cheeks and pulled his head up so he had to look at Kurt, "Because you worry about it, because you're conscious about it, it won't happen. You will be an amazing dad Blaine. You just have to watch your language around them."

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, "Them?"

Kurt nodded, "One boy and one girl. That's what we're having."

Blaine's body warmed where it had been cool. "Oh really?"

Smooth hands petted his cheeks and then one of them moved up to the fuzz on top of his head, "Yes. They will call you daddy and call me papa. They will be two years apart in age. The girl will be mine biologically and the boy will be yours."

Blaine shut his eyes and could picture it perfectly. A little fashionable girl modelled after Kurt and another curly haired Anderson boy. All four of them together, happy, and a family. A real family.

"Still needs a dog in the mix." He murmured as he kept his eyes shut.

He heard the sweet chuckle from Kurt and careful fingers tapping his head. He knew Kurt couldn't wait until his curls were fully formed again.

"Soon enough sweetheart. Once you can walk it."

Blaine hadn't realized how much he had come to rely on his physical qualities until Coach Sylvester starting trying to push Kurt into cross dressing for nationals. Blaine couldn't even get up without someone helping him which meant that he was in no shape to snap at her and be a legitimate threat. Kurt, he realized, though could hold his own against the dragon lady, and even though he had a fire in his belly from wanting to defend Kurt, he didn't need to.

Besides, no one pushed the matter any further when Tina had a pissy fit in front of Glee club about her desire for solos (was there anyone in this club who wasn't a total diva?) and stormed out with Mike quick on her heels.

"Does she realize no one gives two shits about hearing her wail?" Blaine asked once she was out of the room, giving way to some snickers, awkward silence, and a gentle jab in the side from Kurt.

"Well she sounds like a harpy." Blaine grumbled, but gave it up after that point.

They saw Tina again, with fabric for the costumes for Nationals, when they were at the mall. Blaine and Kurt had both gotten some ice cream and were now relaxing in the massage chairs when she walked by, all busy and over concerned with something on her phone, and marched right into the little pool in front of them.

Kurt snapped up and went to Tina's aid. It took some careful maneuvering but Blaine was there too a minute later. It looked like she was out of it as she babbled a lot of crazy things about Finn being Kurt and trying to have sex with her and how Blaine would look terrible with a mohawk, but in the end she came to, realized where she was and what had happened, and that she was now soaking in the mall with fabric that Kurt was somehow able to price in his head.

Damned divas.

Whatever had happened in that pool though had made Tina more agreeable though, and despite the fact that an image of Kurt and Tina having sex flashed through his mind and killed any hope of getting an erection for the rest of the day, it seemed to make everyone less tense.

That afternoon when they got home, Blaine, Kurt, Sam, and Finn were greeted not just by Burt, but by Cooper and Carole as well - all three were giddy and surrounding the entranceway.

"Well this is ... weird." Finn noted with the other three boys nodding in agreement.

The explanation for this odd behaviour was given by Cooper, who held up three envelopes, "Checked the mail. They're from universities... for you Blaine."

Oh.

Soon enough, Kurt, Finn, and Sam were just as giddy - escorting Blaine to the living room and ready to watch him open the letters.

He just hoped he wasn't about to disappoint them all with what was inside.

It was Kurt, leaned over beside him, damned near bouncing in place with his hands in his lap trying to contain those hand gestures he made when he was excited, that gave Blaine the most stress. There was no doubt Kurt would get into NYADA, so now it was all about what Blaine could get into to be with him in New York.

He took a deep breath, and carefully opened the one from Pace.

Accepted.

A chorus of whoops and cheers went up around the room.

Then there was Columbia.

Accepted.

Another ear-blowing session of hollering and hooting.

Then New York University.

Accepted again.

"Oh wow Blaine! You're going to have your pick!" Sam yelled out over the cheers.

Blaine simply nodded and looked at the three papers in front of him as Kurt hugged him from the side. Three universities had thought enough of him to accept him in. He was going to New York for sure now. With Kurt. He could plan a future for them.

The cheers and the congratulations all around him faded into background noise as his head became loud. His brain telling him one simple truth.

You got out.

And so he smiled, and hugged Kurt back, and accepted all the congratulations, because even though this stuff hadn't mattered a few months ago, now it was the final step in freeing himself from his parents. Freeing him from Lima. Freeing him from having to be a certain person to avoid getting bullied.

He could be Blaine.

"No Blaine. No storage room. You are not able to hack it yet." Kurt scolded Blaine as they rounded the corner towards the locker room.

"But... you.. welding... you were the only one up on that stage who not only looked like they knew what they were doing but you were fucking hot while you did it." Blaine moaned, thinking back to yesterday when they were welding for their Flashdance routine.

Kurt tsked and led Blaine to the locker room, helping him sit on one of the benches before handing over a tape to Mr. Schuster. Blaine knew it was of Vocal Adrenaline's practice. Kurt had gone alone to spy on them since Blaine was about as useful as a spaghetti squash in Finn's room right now.

Vocal Adrenaline was all in sync, all perfect, with Unique leading them on with her little sashay's and hip bops, making all of New Directions curl up into little balls of worry. Blaine only wanted to curl up because the bench was fucking uncomfortable and he didn't understand why they had to meet in the locker room to watch this video.

"Those moves don't look all that hard." Blaine stated when Mr. Butthead had insisted the Human Centipede move that Vocal Adrenaline was doing on screen was the most difficult show choir dance move right now.

"Says the cripple." Puck huffed. That made not only Blaine glare in his direction, but Artie and Quinn as well. "Sorry!"

After the viewing, the group went back to the choir room where arguments ensued again about Kurt dressing in drag, how good Vocal Adrenaline was, and how they were expected to beat them with only Rachel at the helm.

Then Puck came in.

Wearing a wig and a dress.

"Oh my god." Kurt sputtered beside him while Blaine just stared. Stared and stared, and, oh god, what was wrong with him. It was like watching a catastrophe unfold before him and he couldn't unglue his eyes from the scene.

After what seemed like forever, Mr. Butthead sent Puck away to change and then they went into three hours worth of choreography for Paradise by the Dashboard Light. Blaine was thoroughly sore to say the least. Thankfully, he and Quinn were able to joke about it and mutually complain about their aches and pains while Kurt and Joe coddled them.

"Do you think I was wrong?" Kurt mused as they drove home afterwards.

"You're never wrong about anything sweetcheeks." Blaine uttered. His chair was reclined back and he had the back and ass warmers on high as they travelled - thankful that Finn and Sam had taken the other vehicle.

"Do you even know what I'm referring to?"

"Not a clue."

Kurt chuckled and then elaborated, "Dressing in drag."

"Fuck no babe. You're hottest when you wear tight pants and shirts - not some girly swishy dress and definitely not with fake tits."

Another chuckle. "What is it with you and breasts?"

"I don't have a thing against breasts... so long as they're flat and hairy."

"You know what I mean Blaine."

Blaine sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe it was because I wasn't breastfed or some shit. I just know that the way they swing all around like sacks of jelly weirds me out. Can we not discuss tits? I'd much rather discuss your sweet ass."

"But was I wrong? I mean... Puck took one for the good of the team... even if it was horrible to see."

"Puck made a hideous woman for a reason - same reason you would. You're not meant to be one. Your buddy... Unique.... she was supposed to be born a woman but got stuck in a boy body by some fluke. That's different. You can tell she was supposed to be a chick. Can't force that shit."

"You really think so?"

"Fuck babe. I know so. Now take me home and cuddle the shit out of me."

"Just cuddle?"

"Babe... I saw Puck in a dress and fake tits today. I don't think I could get it up even if a crane was involved."

"So what exactly prompted you to fucking put on a dress yesterday anyhow?" Blaine asked of Puck when it was the two of them and Puck was getting his things out of his locker the next day.

"Dude... I just... as lame as it's going to sound - Glee is the one thing I really have going for me. So I wanted to make sure we get Nationals even if it means I have to dress up as a chick."

Blaine chuckled and shook his head. He was about to respond when Rick Nelson, and two of the other hockey morons encircled him and Puck. Both of them tensed up, but with Blaine that came at the cost of feeling his mending body in pain as he forced the muscles together in order to tense.

"Look at this boys. Blaine Anderson and Noak Puckerman. Both former rulers of this school and now reduced to what? Puckerman comes to school wearing dresses and Blainey-boy here can barely walk from all the dick he's getting up the ass from Hummel."

Blaine snarled and took a step forward. Body repair be damned, he wasn't going to stand back and listen to that. Puck had the same idea, though his movements were much more fluid as he went face to face with Rick, suggesting that they get a few more hockey players over here so it would be a fair fight. Blaine had to chuckle at that. Between him and Puck, even if he was still healing, he knew he could take these guys.

"You're not even going to graduate Puck. You'll be one of those guys we made fun of when we were younger. Another Lima Loser."

Now Puck growled and geared back to punch Rick, but Rick's hockey toadies grabbed him and held his arms back. Blaine stiffly walked himself over and grabbed at one of the little minions, ignoring the shooting pain in his arm as he did, to get the boy off his buddy.

"This afternoon... by the dumpster where you used to hold court in this school Puckerman. Don't mess up this night hallway with your blood. Your little... sidekick can come too if his boyfriend lets him out past three too I suppose."

And with that, they left. Blaine had his hands in fists and was set on stalking after them when Blaine put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "Don't."

"But those fuckers...."

"Forget them. They're no threat. Now Kurt? If he finds out I let you get hurt, he is a threat."

"Fuck... no kidding."

Blaine ignored Puck's demands that he stay out of the after school fight, but he did tell Sam.

So when Blaine made his way outside to the circle of students and hockey players surrounding Rick and Puck, he wasn't surprised to see not only Sam there, but Finn, Mike, Santana, and Rory as well.

Both boys in the centre were already sporting blood on their faces, but were circling each other like vultures - until of course, Rick gave Puck on good hit and knocked Puck to the ground.

That was their cue.

It was unspoken, but all agreed upon somehow. The hockey players and glee club members who were there broke into fighting. Some of it was one-on-one, in Santana's case she took on two of the hockey players. Blaine went after the guys who had just tossed a felled Puckerman into the dumpster and they were running off at the sight of him.

Apparently, he was still scary with a limp.

Students who were uninvolved were screaming and running backwards, but never far away so they wouldn't be able to see the drama unfold in front of them. For every glee club member on the ground, there was one hockey player on the ground. Blaine couldn't even get near any one of them in particular. Everytime he tried, they rushed off, making him more irritated than anything. He wanted to get at least one punch in.

Then. Silence.

He spun around to see what was the cause of the sudden quiet and saw Puckerman, out of the dumpster, holding a switchblade towards Rick. Everyone seemed to be holding in their breath as they kept their eyes glued towards what was happening.

Then coach Beiste stormed in, telling everyone to leave, except for Puck of course. Begrudgingly, Blaine left with the rest of his Glee club kin, looking back towards Puckerman who just looked like Blaine had felt so many times - ready to punch the shit out of the bus he was leaning against.

It was then that Blaine saw himself in Puckerman, except that Puck didn't have a Kurt or Hudson-Hummel home to fall back on. The comments Rick had made about Blaine were meant to infuriate Blaine, but because he didn't care what Rick thought of him, they didn't do a whole lot. Puckerman on the other hand cared a lot what others thought about him because he had no safety net at home, and so being called a Lima Loser was no doubt hurting him deeply.

"I can't believe you idiots!" Kurt yelled at him, Sam, and Finn when they explained to the household that night why the two former were sporting bruises and why Blaine was extra sore,

Blaine shrugged it off and went back to thinking about Puck. If there was a way they could help him...

"And Blaine! Why the hell would you do anything to hurt yourself more! Forget how we need you for nationals - do you know how pissed I would be if you got beat up again?"

Blaine sighed. He wasn't going to have any peace for his thoughts while Kurt was riled up.

"Sweetcheeks... I appreciate your concern, but I'm trying to think about how to help Puckerman right now and that takes a whole lot of fucking brainpower to do."

That shut Kurt up. Burt, Carole, and Kurt all exchanged curious glances before Finn explained how Puck had failed his geography test, wouldn't graduate now, and how he was being berated as a Lima Loser.

"He might not be getting beat... but it's fucking clear that his parents don't give two shits about him either." Blaine supplied at the end, wondering if being neglected was as brutal as being abused. He didn't want to hazard a guess so that thought ended quickly.

"We've always accepted Puck in our home because we know he doesn't have a lot of positive stuff going on in his home..." Carole noted, looking at Finn who gave a little nod of response.

"Yah, well, he hasn't been over as much now has he? And I think since he's not graduating, he figures he has no where left to fall back on when we all go to college." Blaine grumbled. Kurt had moved to sit beside him, repositioning him to sit in a way the physical therapist had recommended.

More nods throughout the room and Burt broke the silence by suggesting they work on getting Puck over more to be a part of the Hudson-Hummel home so they could support him through this rough patch.

"Hell. He's a good kid. Might not be into his math and history as much as the school likes, but he's a solid worker and reliable. I could get him a job at my shop."

Finn shook his head. "Puck has a big plan about going to L.A. and expanding his pool cleaning business there."

"Well then... let's at least be there for him until he decides to do that hey guys?" Carole asked of all her boys, who nodded in response. The poor woman in a sea of men. Blaine didn't know how she put up with it all.

Finn's phone beeped then and he glanced at it, a grin spreading over his too large head.

"It's like... Sara n' Dippy or something..."

Kurt cut in, "Serendipity?"

"Yah. Them. Anyhow. Beiste got Puck's teacher to let him rewrite the final. He wants us to help him study during the Nationals trip."

A small cheer went up in the Hudson-Hummel living room and Blaine grinned to himself. Puck might not have the most attentive mother, but he did have a coach that clearly tried to fill that gap. He'd had to remember to send Coach Beiste some flowers or something. Great coach and substitute parent all in one.

"Well that helps that problem anyhow. Now boys...." Kurt glanced around at his brother, boyfriend, and friend. "We need to pack. We leave for Nationals tomorrow and I will not be supplying any of you with things you forgot...." With that he passed out lists. ".... so I have typed up a list of what you need to pack and make sure everything on there is in your bags!"

"What's conditioner?" Finn inquired honestly.

"Going to pretend I didn't hear that." Kurt said dismissively, then taking Blaine's hand.

"And I will help you with yours. You need to be dance capable by Saturday so no unnecessary bending or lifting for you."

"Yes dear." Blaine said with a roll of his eyes, getting a small smack on his bottom from Kurt.

"God I'm going to miss how noisy my house has become..." Carole said from the bottom of the stairs as the boys ascended them.

"Don't worry hon. You and I can make plenty of noise to make up for it."

Never have four boys retreated so quickly into their rooms with such gagging sounds as they did then.