"Let's start from the head, shall we?" Doctor Larson said "Blaine, you have a mild traumatic brain injury. Your nose is broken. You have several fractured ribs. Five, if you want to know. This caused the piercing of your left lung and some internal bleeding; that's why you had trouble breathing. Your left leg is broken; you may have noticed the cast. You also have several bruises all over your body and you needed some stitches on your left arm and above you right eyebrow."

Blaine didn't pay attention as the doctor spoke. He'd woken up a few hours back, still confused. He was alone, and Hannah, the nurse, was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it was her day off. Nobody told Blaine how long he'd been sleeping, so he didn't know which day it was. His parents were still somewhere around the world. The hospital had managed to call them, but knowing that Blaine would be in hospital for a few weeks in good care, they didn't bother coming back to Ohio.

"They WHAT?" Kurt said angrily.

"They never came to see me... They were too busy... Well, that's what they said." Blaine answered. He was still facing Kurt, and he still could see some tears in his boyfriend's eyes.

"Oh my god... No wonder you hate them..."

"I'm not done with the story, Kurt... At the time I was not even angry at them ... They were always busy people, and I didn't get to see them often anyway," Blaine said, almost too softly.

"It's not a reason to abandon your kid at the hospital after he almost got beaten to death..." Kurt mumbled.

Blaine stayed at the hospital for almost a month, including his time in forced sleep. As it turned out, he slept for a whole week. Apparently breathing would've been too hard for his body to handle if he were awake.

He was beginning to remember bits of what happened the night of the dance. He also started to worry about Anthony. Nobody told him where the other boy was, and when he asked, they said that they could not give him that information. It was all part of some sort of "secrecy policy" of the hospital.

Blaine could not wait to get out and see his almost-boyfriend again, mostly to be assured that he was alright.

While Blaine was in the hospital, his parents made sure he got a tutor once a week to keep him up with English, math and science assignments. He didn't know where they found the guy, but he came to his hospital room every Tuesday and Thursday. The tutor made Blaine work for three hours in the morning, when he was less tired.

On one hand, Blaine was glad his parents thought of his education; he didn't want to get behind too much. But on the other hand, he kind of wanted the excuse to do nothing for a month.

He also read a lot during those long hours he was confined to his bed. Turns out that Hannah, the nurse, was an avid reader and brought Blaine new books almost every day.

Slowly, he healed. He was able to breathe properly, his stitches barely left scars and he would have his cast removed in two weeks. It was a Monday when his parents appeared, one evening, in his bedroom's doorway.

"Mother! Father!" Blaine said, jumping when he heard them coming. He always called his parents this way. It was being respectful; according to them.

"Blaine." His father simply said. Blaine's mother was slightly behind her husband, barely looking at Blaine.

There was an awkward silence. Blaine's mother broke it first.

"You're getting out tonight, Blaine." The woman said. "We're here to pick you up. The nurse will bring you some crutches so you can get out."

She then proceeded to give Blaine some clothes she'd brought. After a month in a hospital gown, Blaine was happy to wear some real pieces of clothing.

Kurt was consumed with total anger. Did Blaine's parents really just barge into his hospital room saying that they were there to pick him up? They hadn't even bothered to come earlier?

But Blaine didn't have an answer for Kurt just yet. He only stated, again, that at the time he thought they were really busy.

Kurt was still mad, though.

"I'm on my way home!" Blaine thought, confidently. Tonight, he would sleep in his own bed. He will have all his CDs, his movies, his books, his laptop...

Everything would be right again. And he would see Anthony at school, and he would be sure that he was okay.

But then he remembered that he was in the hospital for a month. Why didn't Anthony try to contact him? Maybe he was badly injured, too, and didn't have the time. Or, perhaps they'd been put into different hospitals? There were many of them in Ohio, after all.

Then he also realized that his parents never came to see him. So, Blaine had to ask:

"Father? Did you and mother just come back from a business trip?"

"No" his father simply said.

"Oh..." was all Blaine could respond. Because what else could he say? His parents had never been talkative. This time, though, they really looked like they were shutting everything out on purpose.

Blaine's heart began to race when his parents took a ramp to the freeway. His house was certainly not that way.

He didn't ask questions when, twenty minutes or so later, they took an exit towards Westerville. He knew he would get some answers pretty soon. The truth was that he was scared to face them.

"So they took you to Dalton without even bring you home first?" Kurt asked in pure shock

"We could say that. Although, pretty much all my stuff was in my dorm room." Blaine answered. "They made sure I boarded. And from that time, they were out of town every weekend. I could not go back to the house."

"Why did they send you there? I thought you wanted to go to public school!"

"Yeah... They did say something about tuition at Dalton being less expensive than hospital bills..."

"Oh..."

"Yeah... Oh..."

One of the first things Blaine did when he entered his dorm room for the first time was to get on his computer and browse through a month's worth of emails. He did not have many friends, save for Anthony, and he was curious to see if the other boy had written to him in the past month.

His inbox was filled with spam, of course, but he had an email from Anthony. Eagerly, he clicked on the mail.

Blaine,

I'm so sorry to tell you what I need to tell you by e-mail. I really liked you, a lot, but we can't see each other anymore.

I know you had it worse than me. I was in the hospital for three days while you were sleeping. I went to your room every day for a few hours, to hold your hand. Seeing your beautiful face all broken made me realize that I don't want this. I don't want to get beaten up for something I am, something that I can't change.

I saw what those guys did to you and I'm not ready to face that. Those assholes said that they spared me because I have not done anything. You invited me and that made you the twink and the guy to beat.

You are out and strong and proud. I thought I could be too, but I can't. You made me came out. Now I just wish someone would help me back in.

I'm so sorry Blaine. I hope you understand. I'm scared now. So very scared.

I hope you find all the happiness you deserve.

Anthony

"So that's it? He broke up with you by email?" Kurt asked, incredulous

"We were never together... He was a friend, that's all" Blaine answered, flatly

"You almost kissed!"

"Yeah... I guess it was more a spur of the moment thing... I don't regret not kissing him..."

"Why? I mean, that would have been a great first kiss!"

"Yeah... But it didn't feel right" Blaine said. "And I prefer kissing you, sweetie!" he added with a grin.

"But that's still awful!"

"Well, I can't change the past! I don't miss him... He wasn't really my type anyway," the curly haired boy said, ending this little conversation.

Blaine really enjoyed his life at Dalton. There, he met Wes Montgomery and David Thompson. They were in the Warblers, the Dalton's Glee Club, and they encouraged him to join. Blaine had always loved to sing. It was the only time his parents weren't angry with him. He never knew exactly why... Something about his late Grandfather loving music, as well as looking a great deal like Blaine physically. So, Blaine auditioned for the Warblers as soon as he was out of his cast.

He really enjoyed being in the acapella group. One night, he called his parents because he knew they would be proud, and he really looked for approbation. The only thing his father said was that he approved of Blaine's new best friends. He knew the Montgomerys and the Thompsons from some unimportant social events. In Mr. Anderson's opinion, they were good families with good values. Blaine's father didn't say anything about the Warblers, and he even hurried to hang up. Puzzled, Blaine put his cell phone down and told himself that his father must have been busy, like always.

"I really don't like your father, you know that, right, honey?" Kurt said. Blaine only nodded, saying nothing. The blue eyed boy was astonished to find out a father could be so unloving. At least now Blaine was far from him, and it was good. Still, Kurt wondered how Blaine ended up in foster care. He knew, though, that this part of the story would come soon enough.

A few months past, Blaine was happy at Dalton. He was given more parts to sing, never solos, but little bridges and distinctive harmonies. He had a special energy that emanated from him. He was singing his heart out on every number and he really enjoyed himself.

Part of that happiness was due to the fact that he was out and proud and nobody was making fun of him for that. It took time. He was afraid to say that he was gay, but Blaine saw that some of the other Warblers were interested in boys, too, and they managed to survive and they looked quite happy.

"So, Blaine, did you have a girlfriend in public school?" Thad asked him one night. Thad was boarding, too, and they used to talk a lot.

"Hum... no..." Blaine answered, not sure what to say

"A boyfriend then?" Thad responded.

"Not quite..." Blaine said, thinking of Anthony

"Someone pretty like you must have had someone!"

"Well... there was this boy, a few months ago, before I came here"

"So, you're gay?"

Blaine stared at him. It was so natural to talk to Thad, less than to Was and David, but he didn't realize that he'd just come out to his friend.

"Hum... yes?"

"Cool! If you want, I have a few friends of mine; I can arrange a meet up with the cutest!" Thad said with a wink.

"What?"

"If you want! If you're free, of course!"

"That... That doesn't bother you that- that I'm..."

"Why should it? I mean, you're a great guy, and as long as it doesn't screw with the Warblers I don't mind!"

Blaine made a mental note and smiled. He would not get rejected here at Dalton, not ever.

When May came around, Blaine was named Lead Soloist of the Warblers for the next year. Beaming, he accepted the promotion with pride. Dalton really was a safe haven for him. He'd never been happier in his entire life.

On the last day of school, Thad parted him from the others and said:

"Hey! Here's my phone number to my parent's house! Call me and come over this summer! I'll miss our late night talk, boy!"

"Thanks! I'll miss it too, Thad!"

"Thad was the first at Dalton whom I came out to. He really was a close friend. Not like Wes or David, though." Blaine said to Kurt.

"I thought Thad was the one who was mean to you when you called him? He seems so nice and he sounds like he cared a great deal about you!" Kurt wondered

"Yeah... About that... Turns out his parents knew my parents, and when my father spilled some bad things about me... That's why he hated me when the summer came..."

"What? What did your father say?"

"That I didn't care about the Warblers, and that I only wanted the lead soloist part so that I could screw everything up..."

"It's not that bad..." the blue eyed boy responded tentatively.

"Oh! For Thad it is! The Warblers are his life! I think he was the first sophomore on the council since the sixties! It was really important to him!"

"Wow... Okay... I guess that when you have an obsession no one can make fun of it..." Kurt responded, thinking about Alexander McQueen.