Over the next couple days, Kurt improved dramatically, as both Mike and Blaine used their different skills and knowledge to tend to him. His ribs would still need a good while to heal, but the rest of him was doing a lot better and with support, he was able to walk around a bit and not feel so absolutely useless. Being able to walk meant, after all, he didn't need Tina diapering him up like a baby to deal with his bodily functions.

Kurt insisted that Blaine stay with him as much as he could. Blaine thought it was because Kurt felt better with him around, and while it was true, Kurt did it mostly because he didn't want Blaine out in town, seeking out David and getting himself hurt in the process. Blaine had even let Ominitago off the rope to let her run free so he wouldn't have to worry about leaving to feed and tend to her all the time. Kurt felt horrible when Blaine told him that, "But she means so much to you...."

"You mean more." Blaine said curtly in response.

Quinn had also come to visit, bringing well wishes from the girls and Santana. She made sure Kurt knew that he didn't have to worry about paying for his medical care, and it was only then that Kurt realized that not only was he missing out on lost wages, but he was racking up a medical debt.

Kurt was also visited by a banker one day who had come to get him to sign a loan payoff form, indicating that his loan had been taken care of. He looked at Blaine when the banker told him that, who just smiled softly in response. After the forms had been signed and the banker had left, he queried Blaine, "But I haven't even agreed to go with you..."

"Whether or not you leave with me... I didn't want that loan on your shoulders anymore. I looked at the records. You've paid it back threefold already. You shouldn't have to worry about lining the pockets of the rich in town anymore."

Kurt was also becoming fast friends with Mike and Tina, who he and Blaine would share meals with. He had sampled his first authentic asian cuisine which was absolutely divine and insisted that Tina write up as many recipes as he could for him. Both Mike and Tina were hoping that they would eventually have enough saved to move back east to start a clinic there and raise a family, having had enough of a taste of the west for their palettes to handle.

"How is it that I have to get hurt in order to be able to enjoy myself?" Kurt mused while Blaine checked the bandages around his chest one afternoon.

Blaine gently ran a finger along Kurt's ribs to check the bruising, which admittedly made Kurt more excited than pained. "What are you talking about?"

Kurt looked down at where Blaine had loosened the bandages, seeing the angry browned bruising on his chest, his nose wrinkling up in self disgust. "I count the first real vacation I've had in a long time as when you were taking care of me at your camp, and now here... even though I'm hurt, I don't have to work, and I get to have you to myself all day. I get to see friends without having to need the excuse to see them for business related reasons and then rush out."

Blaine caught Kurt looking down at himself and pressed a hand to Kurt's forehead to gently make his head lay back against the pillow so he couldn't look at himself. "Well don't start hurting yourself to take a break from things in the future alright? I can do this, but I don't want to be a nursemaid all the time. Doesn't suit me."

Kurt laughed and then stopped abruptly, feeling the pressure on his lungs from his ribs stopping him. "I don't know. I think you'd kind of look cute with the little hat they wear...."

Blaine gave Kurt an incredulous look and just shook his head, making Kurt giggle a little in response.

"When do you compete?" Kurt asked then.

Blaine was redoing the bandages to keep Kurt's ribs restricted so they could heal up better. "Tomorrow and the next couple days after that...."

Kurt thought back to how Rachel would go to cheer on Finn, realizing now why she did it even though the actual events Finn participated in seemed barbaric and disinteresting to him. "I want to come watch you."

Blaine finished off the binding and pulled Kurt's shirt down over it, keeping one hand on Kurt's stomach, rubbing it softly. His abdomen had received it's own share of bruises and a number of scratches that were healing now. "I don't know if you should be making a trip out yet."

"I think I'll make that call." Kurt huffed, making eye contact with the ceiling above him. He was so damn tired of looking at that ceiling.

Blaine nodded and then pulled the blanket up over Kurt and leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "Then I'll talk to Mike and see what he thinks."

Blaine left then, going to do as he said, and leaving Kurt to have a nap. Kurt dreamt about riding Ominitago through a valley, Blaine sitting behind him on the horse. They were travelling to nowhere in particular and enjoying the ride for it's own merits, not worrying about where they were heading. Kurt was vaguely aware, in his sleep, of his mind's attempt to seduce him with the symbolism of the dream.

When he woke up again, it was dark outside and Blaine was snoring softly in the chair beside him. Kurt was content to just watch Blaine sleep, the scruff on his face was growing into a soft beard and he had kept his hat off whenever he was in the clinic, letting Kurt mentally trace the rings of curls on his head.

Kurt had been debating with himself again and again as he had been forming an indent of himself in the bed. He wanted nothing more than to leave with Blaine, every selfish bone in his body rang out with the desire to just go, leave Lima behind, and find a new life with Blaine.

But then he would think about his dad, and Carole, Finn, Rachel, Santana, and all the others. They would still be stuck out here, having to suffer this town without him, and while him being there to suffer with them wasn't necessary, it didn't seem fair that he could escape and they couldn't. He knew if something happened to any of them and he wasn't here, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life.

And so his mind bounced back and forth until he gave himself a headache thinking about it. To his credit, Blaine hadn't pushed the question or brought up the topic again. The shooting part of the competitions were the last things to happen before the final celebration occurred and the games were done for the year. If Blaine was competing starting tomorrow, then that only gave Kurt a few days to make his decision.

Blaine murmured softly in his sleep, a habit that always made Kurt's heart spin in delight. It was about the cutest thing the boy did and always made him forget anything he was thinking about and pay attention, watching Blaine's lips mouth nonsense words before he would inevitably go back to soft snoring.

Growing up Kurt never thought of snowing as endearing. His dad did it and sometimes it sounded like a train was going past his room in the middle of the night. When Blaine snored however, it was soothing. Something about knowing he was close while they slept made Kurt feel completely relaxed.

Eventually Kurt reached out and took Blaine's hands in his own. It was a bit of a stretch, but he was having a difficult time falling back asleep without having that contact. Blaine was always warm, and both rough and soft at the same time. It never took long for Kurt to fall asleep with his touch, which is just what happened.

Waking up, Kurt found Tina there with him, Blaine gone. It was obviously morning since Kurt had to squint his eyes to allow them adjust to the light.

"Time for a bath!" Tina announced cheerfully, and Kurt saw she was holding a bucket of water with clothes strung over one arm.

Kurt groaned and pushed himself up to sit. He would be glad to be done with the assisted bathing. Almost nothing was more embarrassing... almost. The diapers he needed initially were pretty awful.

"So I hear you're getting a day pass to go watch the straight shooting today." Tina said, helping Kurt remove his clothing. Kurt always blushed during this process. It didn't seem to matter that Tina was not at all bothered by this process, or that Kurt was not at all attracted to women, including her. Something about being exposed like that for something so innocent made him go all red.

"Yes ma'am. I want to see Blaine beat everyone else."

Tina chuckled, and now that Kurt was nude, she began wiping him over with a soapy cloth. "You're that sure about him?"

Kurt nodded, clothing his eyes as Tina soaped him up, and trying not to imagine that it was Blaine's hands on him lest he have a less than ideal reaction.

"Well I'll tell Mike to put a bet on him then." Tina said, washing over Kurt's face since his eyes were closed anyhow. "Your bruising looks a lot better. Mike is going to see about getting a regular supply of some of those plants that Blaine was using to bring down your swelling."

Kurt smiled, keeping his eyes shut until Tina used a new wet cloth to wipe the suds off his face. "I'll bet if someone bothered to combine all the knowledge about medicine from all the cultures around the world, there could be some really fantastic cures to things."

Tina agreed and set about washing off the rest of Kurt, noting that Quinn had brought over some of his clothing so he could put on something new, though told him nothing too tight or heavy.

When she was done, including washing his hair, Kurt felt a lot better. Not enough could be said about the benefits of being washed. He looked through the clothing Quinn had brought for him and settled on a pair of tombstone style black trousers with a white wing tip top covered over by a canvas vest. He also put on a belt with a holster that Blaine had given him, putting his revolver into it. He wanted to wear a more stylish pair of boots, but settled on a plain stovepipe black pair, opting for comfort. Finally he topped it all off a dillinger renegade style hat, black in color. He looked himself over in the mirror and smiled, opting then to tie on a patterned silk scarf to hide the bruises around his neck. He looked almost normal again, aside from the odd scratch that was healing up.

Kurt walked himself slowly to the front lobby of the clinic where Blaine was sitting with Mike and talking. As he entered, Blaine caught sight of him and he formed a smile that overtook the whole bottom half of his face. "You look great."

Kurt smiled back and did a little spin in place, "I feel a lot better, thanks to you both and Tina."

Truthfully, Kurt was pushing himself. His chest still ached and whenever he walked, he was painfully aware of where he had been torn inside, but he was done with laying around and wanted to rejoin the world.

Blaine stood up and held a hand out to Kurt, who took it with a squeeze, knowing the audience in this room didn't care about their display of affection, however once they walked outside, they let their hands fall back to their sides as they walked toward the centre of town where the competition was being held.

Stands had been set up, and fences put up around the competition area so no one could jump in. Blaine led Kurt to a seat near the fencing, so that he could see him easily. "You don't act like one of those crazy people now and jump up when there's a good shot made hey? I don't want you hurting yourself."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Yes mum." He sat down and let Blaine go and pay his registration fee and get his revolver checked out to make sure it was an acceptable model. Kurt sat there, listening into the conversations around him about who had betted on who, and who was the favourite to win. Since Blaine was relatively unknown, and hadn't shown off his skill to anyone aside from Kurt, he was listed as an underdog in the competition. Kurt smiled to himself, that meant any payout on bets on Blaine would be big. Knowing Blaine, he had probably bet on himself.

A man walked out into the field and noted that the competition was about to begin. A hush fell over the crowd as they scanned over the large group of competitors hanging out near the left side of the fencing, opposite the targets at the far right.

"Each competitor gets to use up the rounds in their gun. The top ten will advance to the next round." the announcer explained, and Kurt watched as Blaine leaned back against the fence while most of the other competitors were exchanging words and posturing in front of the crowd.

"Line up please!"

The competitors formed a line opposite their designated targets, sheets of canvas with a target made on each for them to try and hit, each target labelled with a competitor number.

"On your mark!"

The competitors lifted their guns, some holding them away from their body, others lining up their sight right by their guns.

"Set..."

Kurt held his breath then, eyes darting between Blaine and Blaine's target.

"Fire!"

A chorus of shots rang out and some of the younger children in the crowd started crying at the noise. Random cheers and booing began, and Kurt had a hard time making anything out in the mess of dust being kicked up by fans, and the movement everywhere. He refrained from nervously bringing his hands to his mouth, though just.

The judges began looking over each of the targets and talking amongst one another. Blaine returned to leaning against the fence behind him during the wait, a lot less nervous than Kurt apparently was, watching the judges intently as they worked on making decisions.

Finally, one of the judges walked to the centre of the area and announced the competitors who would be advancing, "Paul Karofsky, Zain Smythe, Ryder Lynn, Blaine Anderson, ...."

That was the last name Kurt registered and he again had to stop himself from jumping up and letting out a whoop. Then it also dawned on him that up until that point he didn't even know Blaine's last name, a bit of blush forming on his cheeks. He looked at Blaine, who he found had his eyes already on him, and offered a congratulatory smile.

Once the competitors who hadn't advanced left the field, some with some obnoxious choice words to be said and threats made, another set of canvas targets was pinned up and the announcer again asked the crowd to quiet, explaining that from this group, five would advance.

Again the competitors lined up, and Kurt saw as some blew kisses to ladies in the audience, while others flexed for groups of women who gushed at the movements. Blaine however just watched the target, and waited for the command to fire.

"Fire!"

Again there was a medley of shots fired, though it was less noisy than less time and there was more hesitation in the audience. This time, Kurt was able to see that Blaine had hit the target perfectly with all his shots.

Another group of competitors was cast out while Blaine stayed. Kurt was absolutely nervous. Blaine was good, but now he was up against the best in Lima. Both of Sebastian's and David's brothers were in this group too, and Kurt scanned the crowd for David and Sebastian themselves, assuming they would be watching.

He found both of them, standing side by side and watching their brothers, chatting with each other and grinning. Surprisingly, Kurt didn't feel sick when he saw David. It was as if David had already done the worst thing imaginable to Kurt so there was no longer any reason to fear or feel revulsed by him. Kurt knew that he still had plenty of reasons to be afraid, but with Blaine around, he knew he'd be fine. This time too, he wouldn't be letting himself drink himself to stupor either.

A break had been called to allow new bets to be placed and competitors to have a lunch. Blaine came out of the enclosure and approached Kurt, "Lunch?"

Kurt nodded and pushed himself up to standing, "The bakery has a soup you can get at lunch. It's decent."

Blaine nodded his agreement and the pair walked there to order themselves lunch, not noticing as David bore holes in their back with his eyes.

Blaine had paid for lunch, despite Kurt's insistence he could pay for his own. After they had finished, Kurt made Blaine go with him to his room, collecting some of his money from the hiding spots around the room.

"You know... if you really want to end up in the city one day, you should learn how to use a bank...." Blaine noted, watching as Kurt dug under a floorboard for some of his coins.

"When and if that happens, I'll figure it out. I am not putting my money into a bank run by Smythe's or Karofsky's though." Kurt got the last of his coins out of that spot, determined he had enough, closing up his coin purse and tying it onto his belt and standing back up.

"What do you need all that for anyhow?" Blaine asked as they exited his room.

"Going to place a bet." Kurt said nonchalantly, taking the opportunity of them being in private to run his hand over Blaine's back.

Blaine stopped and turned in spot on the stairs, grinning up at Kurt, "And who are you going to bet on?"

Kurt took another step so he didn't have to bend over as he pressed a kiss to Blaine's lips and murmured, "Well that Ryder kid is kind of a cutie...."

Blaine laughed and returned the kiss, his eyes alit as he watched Kurt. "We have lots of money... we don't need anymore..."

Kurt pulled back and questioningly mouthed 'we' after Blaine said it, who nodded in return. Kurt beamed and murmured, "I want to be able to send my dad enough money that he'll never have to worry about making ends meet ever...."

Blaine smiled and reached out to brush a stray hair from Kurt's face. "Well hopefully that Ryder kid delivers then."

They laughed and exited, their hands moving apart automatically as they did. When they returned, Kurt put all his money on Blaine and then returned to his place in the stands, waiting for the competition to begin again.

They reduced their top five, to a top three, with Blaine and each of the younger brothers of the local "lawmen" left. An underdog and the two favourites to win. Kurt could feel his heart pulse through his bandages and threaten to escape his chest.

"Fire!"

Shots once again and this time Kurt shut his eyes. He didn't want to look. He felt a surge of fear, knowing that if Blaine lost he had lost most of the money he had put away and was going to have to live on the streets. Why the hell had he made a bet?

"Blaine Anderson wins!"

Kurt's eyes shot up and he saw the announcer holding up Blaine's hand, who looked less than amused by the hold. One of the Karofsky daughters presented Blaine with a pouch of coin, though clearly forcing the smile during the presentation. Various hoots and hollers in the crowd intermingled with booing and Kurt was sure a couple fist fights had begun by what he could hear, though his eyes were locked on Blaine so he didn't look to confirm.

Kurt smiled at Blaine when they connected sights, and Blaine smiled back, going to the betting stand to no doubt collect on his own bet. Kurt joined him there a minute later and collected his own winnings, gasping as he realized just how much of an underdog Blaine had been rated based on the amount he held in his hands.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with a brothel token?" Blaine grumbled, looking through the contents of the prize pouch beside him, clearly not as impressed with the coins he had won himself as Kurt was.

"I need to send this all to my family now...." Kurt murmured, his eyes wide as saucers as he kept looking at the bag now in front of him.

Blaine nodded and led the way to the post office, Kurt on high alert as he walked, having never held this much money in his life.

On the way there, a couple individuals offered to buy the brothel token off Blaine, who just gave it to the more needy looking of the pair free of charge. Kurt balked, "You could have gotten a decent price for that!"

Blaine raised an eyebrow as he looked to Kurt, "I don't think people should pay for that."

Kurt bit his lip, realising the raised eyebrow he was getting was because Blaine thought Kurt didn't believe that either, and he truthfully didn't. Lima had had more of an impact on his thinking than he consciously realised. Everything could be bought and sold.

"You're right. They shouldn't....." Kurt sighed. "Been in this town too damned long."

Blaine nodded to Kurt and as they reached the post office, waited outside while Kurt had the coin packaged and sent off with a guaranteed courier. He wrote a note to go along with the package, telling Finn to make sure Rachel had whatever she needed for the wedding she would want.

Kurt kept his original amount of betted coins, intending to use them for the moving target competition tomorrow.

"We should get you back to the clinic." Blaine said when Kurt exited the post office.

Kurt groaned in protest. "I'm so sick of it there.... I mean, Mike and Tina are nice enough, but I just want to...." he dropped his voice even though no one was near, "I just want to sleep beside you."

Blaine grinned and nodded sympathetically. "Well then let's go to the clinic and get your things and then go back to your place."

Kurt smiled, "Thanks...." He once again realized that Blaine had let Ominitago go and had packed up his camp in order to stay with Kurt at the clinic in the past few days. His smile became lopsided as he recognized how much Blaine had already sacrificed for him.

They went to the clinic and Mike gave his blessing for Kurt to return home, noting however that Kurt still needed to clean up his sheets and such unless it had already been taken care of. Kurt hadn't checked his sheets when he had been at his home earlier today, a blanket having been spread over his bed. He cringed a little when he thought about the stains that might be on there, but Blaine told Mike he would make sure it was taken care of and they went first to the general store to get Kurt some new fabric for sheets.

Blaine was carrying a ridiculous amount, all rolled and packed together and Kurt realized that he usually had a horse to help him carry the load. "I'll find you another appaloosa one day...." Kurt said quietly as they slowed walked together.

Blaine looked over at Kurt and smiled, "Ominitago will come back once she has her fill of freedom."

Kurt furrowed his brow, "Why would she come back when she has her freedom?"

Blaine chuckled, "Well, she'll miss the carrots obviously."

They laughed and reached the saloon, going slowly up the stairs and into Kurt's tiny room, which seemed a lot smaller with Blaine and all his gear in it. Kurt took a tentative swallow and moved to his bed, slowly pulling back the blanket and then turning away when he revealed the stains of blood, sweat, and rips in the sheets. The blanket being pulled away also revealed a rank stench that quickly filled the room, making Kurt hurry back down the stairs and out the back door to be sick in the dirt.

After he had gotten back his composure and his soup and bun from lunch had dirt kicked over it, Kurt returned to his room, where Blaine had stripped down the mattress and tightly balled up the old sheets and blankets. Kurt moved to help Blaine set down the fur pelt atop the mattress as a new, makeshift bedsheet, but Blaine shook his head, "No... you rest. You've done lots today after being so still for the past few days."

Kurt sighed and went to his solitary chair in the corner, taking the pile of mending that still managed to accumulate in his absence and setting it on the floor. He pulled out his sewing kit and started on mending while sitting in the chair. Meanwhile Blaine set up the bed and then tried his best to tuck away his own gear in the crowded space. It was completely domestic, and Kurt felt completely blissful in the moment.

Blaine left for a few minutes to take out the old sheets and blanket to the laundress, Kurt noting that Blaine should just have her donate them to someone in need if she managed to get them all cleaned up, to which Blaine agreed, noting that they had enough for blankets and sheets with what Blaine already had and the material they had just bought.

Kurt loved that Blaine spoke using 'we' and 'us'. They were such simple words, but their use was so romantic coming from him. When Blaine got back, Kurt looked at him with a coy smile, having been just thinking about his subtle use of language to indicate their relationship.

Blaine looked from side to side and then back to Kurt, "Something I should know?"

Kurt shook his head and looked back down at his stitching, "No. Just enjoying this."

Blaine remained looking confused by that, but didn't question it. He continued to unpack his gear, or at least try to. At one point Blaine murmured that Kurt had an awful lot of clothing for someone who complained about not having enough money, to which Kurt countered that he made his own clothing from the scraps of material left after he filled orders and his clothes only cost him the thread it took him to put it together.

Kurt could hear the saloon filling up below them, and wondered how Marley and Mercedes were doing on their own. Neither had come to visit him, though he didn't expect them to since they really hadn't known each other that long. With his loan paid off now, he might even be able to just work on tailoring and not have to work at the saloon anymore. It wasn't the same without Santana and Rachel anyhow.

Blaine seemed a little antsy when Kurt prompted him, "Why don't you get us some supper from downstairs? I need to catch up on all this." Kurt swept a hand over the mending pile.

Blaine quickly nodded agreement, seemingly happy to have something to do. Kurt worked quietly for a time, but then an old song flitted through his mind, and before he knew it, he was singing to himself.

"... Stay in my arms if you dare. I must have imagined you there...."

It had been a long time since Kurt had sang. He was often too busy and didn't have the heart for it these days, but when he was younger, he loved nothing more than going out into the barn where the acoustics were perfect, and pretending he was singing up on a stage.

"... Don't make me close one more door. I don't want to hurt anymore..."

Eventually Kurt had finished off the song and was beginning to hum the tune to himself when he smelled food and looked up, seeing Blaine there watching him wide eyed. A blush fell over Kurt, realizing that Blaine must have heard him.

"Damn Kurt... I must be dead. You sound like an angel."

Kurt chuckled at that and Blaine grinned, sitting himself down at the bed, and setting Kurt's plate down beside him, his own in his lap.

Kurt tidied up his work and set it down to join Blaine at the bed, taking the plate of potatoes and beans onto his lap, and slowly beginning to eat.

"I'm serious though. Your voice is beautiful. I'm going to make you sing to me everyday from now on." Blaine said between bites.

Kurt blushed again and shook his head dismissively. "No... I'm not that good."

"Damn right you are. Forget tailoring. You belong on a stage."

Kurt looked up at Blaine and judged his look to be serious. "Then you can take me where there is one..."

Blaine nodded and then continued eating. He was mid chew when he realized what it was that Kurt had said and set down his plate, moving closer to Kurt and swallowing the food in his mouth, "Really?"

Kurt set his own plate down and leaned into Blaine, who delicately wrapped his arms around him, minding the ribs. "Really."

Kurt felt a happy hum rise through Blaine and a kiss land on the top of his head. Kurt lifted his face up to kiss Blaine on the lips, a move which resulted in several minutes of exchanged kisses until their dinner's became cold.

Eventually they did finish off the cold white and brown mash and Blaine took the plates back downstairs while Kurt prepared for bed. He was already tucked under the covers when Blaine came back. Blaine pulled the tricky door closed behind him and made a point of moving a set of drawers in front of the door.

"What on earth are you doing?" Kurt asked, watching him.

"There's no lock on your door." Blaine said, as if that was an explanation.

"Are you expecting someone to burst in?"

Blaine looked back at Kurt with exasperation, "I would think that after what's happened to you, you'd want to feel a little more secure."

Kurt shook his head and waved Blaine towards him, trying to get him to join him in bed. "When you're around I'm safe."

Blaine rolled his eyes and started stripping down, setting his revolvers on the nightstand. "I thought you didn't want me protecting you all the time."

Kurt shook his head, his eyes hungrily scanning over Blaine's body and wishing he was healed up completely so he could take advantage of him. "I don't mean like that. I mean I feel like nothing can touch us when we're together."

Blaine slid into the tiny bed and had to lay on his side to fit beside Kurt who needed to sleep on his back. "You're adorable."

Kurt smiled and tucked his head against Blaine's chest as Blaine kissed his forehead, the pair quickly falling asleep together, with smiles on their dreaming faces.