Kurt excused himself as soon as he and Burt were convinced they had gotten all the information out of Emily that she would give. She went to what had been her room and packed up some of her things, then left with Brittany and Santana who were taking her off to her new home for the time being.

He had found himself in the courtyard with his sword, stabbing at a dummy frantically. He was well aware that his father had come up behind him a few paces away but he kept lodging his sword into the dummy again and again and again, until finally he knelt to the ground, out of breath and sweat dripping from his brow onto the ground below him.

His father came up then and stood behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Kurt reached up and put his hand on his fathers, "I was foolish."

Burt sighed and gave Kurt's shoulder a small squeeze. "You've been fooling around with him..."

Kurt nodded and used his sword to push himself up to standing. "More than that. I was allowing myself to fall for him."

Burt obviously didn't want to respond to that and changed the subject. "You know, nothing she said actually incriminates him. We still need to talk to him."

Kurt rubbed the back of his arm over his forehead to clear a pool of the sweat. "I let my guard down and he took advantage of me."

The last thing Kurt expected at that moment was for his father to laugh, but he did. "Oh come on Kurt. We both know you better than that. NO ONE takes advantage of you. You wouldn't let them. Letting someone see that you have a heart is not being taken advantage of."

Kurt looked up at his dad, who despite all this was smiling at him. "What if he got information out of me that could hurt us?"

Burt patted him on the back, "If that's the case, then we're all at fault. We were all too willing to trust in him and put our hopes in him. We all weren't careful enough."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm sorry I let you down dad."

Burt had a hand on each of Kurt's shoulders rapidly and gave him a little shake. Kurt blinked and looked steadily at his father as he spoke. "You have not let me down. You have every right to want to be loved and to love someone. You want to know how I knew about you two?"

Kurt nodded slowly and Burt continued, "You have been genuinely HAPPY for the past few days. It hasn't been forced at all. I'm your dad. I may not be as good at reading people as you are, but I can at least read you. You gravitate towards him without any thought about it. I may have said that I wanted you to not fall for him before, but I was wrong."

Kurt spoke softly, "But what if he is giving his father information and using us?"

Burt shook his head, "Then we deal with it. But don't you dare feel guilty about it. And if he hasn't been supplying his father with information?"

Kurt smiled weakly, "Then I may need to reevaluate my retirement plans."

They both let out a small laugh and embraced. "Thanks dad." Kurt said, resting his head on his father's shoulder.

When they pulled back from each other, Burt looked at his son solemnly, "I suggest we wait to interrogate him until the morning. Let's get all our wits about us first. It's late anyhow. He's probably fallen asleep."

Kurt nodded his agreement and they walked into the castle, purposely going through the kitchen to get a small snack to make up for the aborted dinner. As they went up the stairs, Burt groaned and put a hand to his chest and started stumbling forward. Kurt caught him before he completely fell and yelled out, "MEDIC!"

"Oh dad. Oh dad..." Kurt held onto his father for dear life as several troops and a medic ran to him and Burt. Kurt clasped his hand around Burt's as he was put on a stretcher and walked with him to the infirmary, tears rolling down his face openly. It wasn't until Quinn ordered him back and then had him forcibly held back by two soldiers that Kurt was separated from his father. He allowed himself to be taken to the main hall where he alternated between pacing the floor and sitting on a bench and tearing up. Finn had joined him and then Noah as well. The trio held their breath anytime anyone came out from the infirmary, but it wasn't until dawn that Quinn came out and spoke to them.

"He has had a heart attack. He's alive, but the toll on his body is big."

Kurt jumped up from where he had been sitting, "Can I see him?"

Quinn's lips pursed and she looked over to Carole who had now joined them.

Carole's face was streaked with tears, "He's in a coma... his body is trying to repair itself... but we don't know when or... if... he'll wake up."

Kurt made a pitiful cry and Quinn quickly moved forward to hold him as he cried into her shoulder. Finn was doing the same for his mother while Noah kept his head bowed in quiet thought.

They went to visit his father, who laid so still and quiet in a secluded cot. Kurt told him how much he meant to him and how he needed him there before going out into the main hall where everyone was now gathered, quietly working on their assignments. As he stepped in, he felt the eyes on him and the already low murmur of voices still to silence. He looked at Finn as he reached the war table and shook his head, "What are we going to do...?"

"What are YOU going to do you mean. Noah and I are great at hacking and slashing, but you're the one who needs to take over while he's recovering. That's why everyone is looking at you. They're expecting you to say something... make them feel like everything is alright."

Kurt's eyes rounded with shock as he looked up at Finn. The idea was ridiculous. He couldn't replace his father, even if it was temporary.

Noah nodded to him across the table, "It's you man. Whether you like it or not."

Kurt put his palms flat on the table and leaned over it, taking a breath and trying to keep himself together. "I think you're both selling yourself short..."

Finn reached out to put a hand on Kurt's back, "No. We just know how much more you're worth. You need to lead."

Kurt stuffed his emotions down within him. With everything that had happened in the past twelve hours, pretending to be commanding would be easy.

He went to the stairs and took a few steps up, turning to face the sea of faces who were watching him the entire time quietly.

"My father, Marshal Hummel, had a heart attack last night. He is in recovery, but until he is ready to lead us again, I will be stepping into his shoes. I know I have a lot to live up to, but I also know how dedicated, and passionate all of you are. I know you will help me, and in turn, I will do whatever I can to help you."

A symphony of clapping erupted throughout the hall and everyone resumed their work with more energy than they had previously. Kurt felt a couple hands pat him on the back and he turned to Noah and Finn.

"That was perfect man." Finn nodded.

"Now I suppose comes the time for some dirty work..." Kurt sighed and continued up the stairs, walking down the hall and dismissing Mercedes.

He opened the door without knocking or calling ahead and found Blaine inside, awake and sitting on the edge of his bed. His clothing the same as the night before. The gorgeous dark-haired angel looked up at him with eyes ringed in dark circles and murmured, "Kurt..."

Kurt didn't have to try to be cold. Everything that had happened had drained him of any emotion at all.

"Get up. We're sparring now."

Blaine choked back a breath and got to his feet shakily.

Kurt turned and walked out, Blaine on his heels, "Kurt, please, I didn't..."

"Not here. Outside." Kurt asserted as he kept up a quick walk and Blaine bowed his head and followed him out quietly, into the training area.

Kurt dismissed all the troops who were keeping up their skills by practicing in the area and pulled a sword from the rack, handing it to Blaine. He drew his own sword and stood across from Blaine, waiting for him to get into a ready position.

Blaine tested the weight of the sword in his hand and then crouched, looking to Kurt and waiting for him, "I didn't get any sleep last night... you'll have me outmatched based on that alone."

Kurt huffed, "I didn't sleep either."

With that Kurt jabbed forward and Blaine jumped back, swinging at Kurt. Their swords crossed in an angry clang and they pulled them away from one another, circling each other and striking out, each of them matching the other. Blaine's skill was clean, finessed, and trained. Each movement Kurt made resulted in a very calculated counter action by Blaine. Kurt on the other hand had no formal training. His training had been the battlegrounds. His arm moved on its own with it's own instinct and memory separate from Kurt's mind.

"Aren't you going to ask me?!" Blaine shouted, directing a swipe at Kurt's midsection.

Kurt bounced Blaine's sword off his own and hopped back, bracing himself for the next swing, "I trusted you!"

Blaine gasped and his eyes fell over Kurt, his eyes devising a plan. "You still can!" He made another swing and Kurt blocked it easily.

Kurt's body ached from the tension. He could feel a cramp in his thigh, and his hair was quickly becoming plastered against his head once again from sweat. He wasn't going to let Blaine win this though. "How? You haven't been truthful with us."

Blaine took a couple steps back to give himself some space as he took a moment to spoke, "I told you I don't know where my father is. I don't know why she thinks that."

Kurt took advantage of the situation and rushed forward, drawing his sword against Blaine's who fell under him with Kurt straddled over him as they fell together into the dirt. "Then tell me about the passages."

Blaine gasped, first with the shock of the impact and then with the realization. "The.. they're under the castle..." Each of them was still pressing their sword against the other. Kurt was not wearing armor and neither was Blaine, any wounds they might get from this could be lethal.

"And?" Kurt growled down. The sweat from his face was dripping onto Blaine and mixing with his sweat.

"And what?! They were used by kings from long ago to send messages out of the kingdom and bring whores in!" Blaine put both hands on the hilt of his sword, trying to increase the strength he could use against Kurt.

Kurt searched Blaine's eyes with his own. Watching as he spoke. He had to grunt as the force against him was increased and he pulled a leg up and hooked it around one of Blaine's arms to force it away from the sword. He may not have had the power of Noah or Finn, but he was agile.

Blaine gasped and his sword clattered onto the dirt as his hand was jerked away, leaving him exposed to Kurt's sword. Kurt touched the edge of his sword to the side of Blaine's neck, "A win for me. Now tell me truthfully. Did you know your father was under the castle this entire time?"

Blaine's eyes rounded in surprise. He made a small gasp and shook his head up at Kurt who continued to look into his eyes for signs of deception. "No... oh god... it never occurred to me that anyone could be down there."

Kurt threw his sword to the side and held his head over Blaine's "You're going to take a bath and change your clothes. You stink. You will come to the war table as soon as you're ready."

Blaine shut his eyes and murmured curses to himself for his idiocy while Kurt stood up and walked away. He also needed a bath and a moment alone with his thoughts.