"Wake up, curly dolphin."

Blaine moaned. A cheerful sounding voice was chirping in his ear and a hand was shaking his shoulder. He grumbled in his state of partial wakefulness and rolled over onto his face. He was so incredibly exhausted. He felt like he could sleep for days.

"Come on, Blaine. You need to wake up," a second voice spoke from somewhere above him.

Wait a minute.This voice sounded familiar. For some reason it surprised him too. He couldn't pull himself far enough out of his dream world to figure out why though.

"That's it. We're gonna have to douse him. Are we having any luck with Chelsea?"

"No. She's still having happy dreams."

"How do you know that they're happy?" The familiar voice sounded genuinely curious.

"She's smiling, silly."

A snort of laughter.

"Alright. I'll get him. You get her."

Blaine was thrust unceremoniously into the land of the living when a flood of freezing cold water washed over him.

"What the..." He jerked upright, gasping for breath and blinking the water from his eyes.

"Bloody hell!" Chelsea's voice rang out sharply as her teeth chattered. Blaine guessed accurately that she had been given the same rude awakening that he had.

A warm blanket was suddenly wrapped around his shoulders and a pair of strong hands were rubbing and patting his arms in an effort to warm him. He looked up with slightly blurred vision, still feeling disoriented and confused, and found a pair of bright blue eyes staring into his own.

"Kurt?" He whispered. The face in front of him finally came into focus. It was the slayer. Blaine stared in disbelief for a moment before tossing the blanket away and yanking the boy into his arms.

"Hey! It-it's okay," Kurt comforted him a little awkwardly but didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around him in return, holding him tightly.

"You were hurt. There was blood. So much blood. Your face was so pale. I thought you were..." he couldn't finish the sentence, and just clung to the other boy even more desperately.

"I'm fine, Blaine. Super-duper slayer healing powers, remember?"

"He's not completely fine. You probably shouldn't hold him so tight. He's going to start bleeding again and I just got it to stop," the cheerful voice spoke from behind Kurt.

Blaine let go quickly and took the time to look Kurt over carefully. The slayer's face was still peaked looking. Blaine also noticed that the other boy's left shoulder was heavily bandaged and his arm was wrapped tightly to his body in a sling. An incredible wave of guilt washed over him. If he hadn't been so rash, Kurt wouldn't have come after him and he wouldn't have been injured. The taller boy seemed to read his mind and gently took his hand.

"Hey, just... just don't, okay? It's fine. I mean, I'm fine and you and Chelsea are alive. That's what matters." He smiled at Blaine reassuringly. "I'm really hoping to get a 'you just saved my life' make-out session out of this though." The slayer winked at him, trying his hardest to make light of the situation. The more serious things got, the more uncomfortable he got. He couldn't do serious and mushy. Well, he couldn't do it with an audience anyway. Blaine wasn't in the mood to joke though.

"You shouldn't have had to save me, Kurt. I can take care of myself and I'm smarter than that," he said bitterly. "I let myself get... well, it became personal I guess," he whispered. The vision of a tall man with flashing eyes and a sadistic smirk was vivid in his mind. Kurt nodded slowly, remembering what Blaine had screamed out as he had rushed forward with the sword.

"I understand. Please don't blame yourself though. I certainly don't," Kurt responded in complete seriousness for the first time. Blaine took a ragged breath and gave a tiny nod. He couldn't just forgive himself. He knew they would have to talk more later, but for now he was content to drop it. Goodness knows his mom wouldn't forgive him that easily. After being relieved to find out that he was still alive, she would probably kill him. He glanced quickly over to his mother at that thought. He was surprised that she hadn't said more to him in the form of a reprimand yet.

He found her still blinking sleepily and shaking her head as if to clear it. She was shivering as water continued to drip from her hair and a blonde girl was rubbing her arms and back, trying to warm her. Kurt looked at him and spoke up quickly.

"She'll be okay. She was right in the middle of the fray so Brit's spell hit her harder than you or I. You'll both be fine though. Brittany cleared our lungs right away. Chelsea will just need a bit longer to come around completely."

"How come you don't seem to be affected?" Blaine asked him curiously. Kurt just smiled

"We just talked about this, dufus. Fancy-shmancy powers given to me by creepy stone-age men that include the ability to heal at lightning speed, remember? Brit used a spell that has an effect similar to toxic gas, which ingeniously took out all of the demons that weren't burnt to a crisp by her flames. Unfortunately, we were in the line of fire. She cleaned out our lungs though and kept us from pushing daisies too. Oh, this is Brit."

Blaine's brain still wasn't working at full capacity and he took a moment to absorb all that Kurt had said. The other boy's odd way of turning a phrase made his foggy head spin, but it also caused him to smile. He knew without a doubt that he would never grow tired of listening to this boy speak. He turned to the blonde girl and reached out a shaky hand. She giggled at his gesture and pushed his hand aside as she attacked him with a hug. Blaine's eyes widened in surprise and but he hugged her back, realizing that he owed this girl his life, even if he didn't comprehend how yet. He thought that Kurt had mentioned something about a spell. His breath caught in his throat when the realization hit him that a real, live witch was hugging him.

"Are you feeling better now, curly dolphin?" She asked him with a concerned smile. He nodded warily, trying to figure out what in the world a curly dolphin was. He glanced at Kurt who was hoisting Chelsea up with his one good arm. The slayer rolled his eyes with a look that said, 'Don't ask.'

"Can you stand now?" Kurt asked, trying his best to keep Chelsea standing with only one arm. He finally gave up and stooped, tossing her over his good shoulder. Blaine nodded and rose to his feet unsteadily. Brittany's hand was there to help him find his balance.

"What are we doing?" Blaine asked, taking a deep breath and feeling a bit more like himself now that he was on his feet. Kurt grimaced as Chelsea shifted and some of the weight went over to his injured side.

"We can't stay here. I have no idea how soon that man will be back with a bigger army. I don't even know what he wants. We need to go to a safe place until your mom gets her brain back in order. We need to regroup and figure out what the hell happened back there." Blaine nodded.

"Where are we going?"

Kurt swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat.

"The only place I know of that is as well protected as this one was. Not that our mob of brainiacs let that stop them before, but I don't know what else to do until Chelsea can talk to me." He took a deep breath.

"We're going to my house. Looks like I'll get to have that talk with my dad tonight after all."

The fresh air in Blaine's lungs seemed to do him a world of good. He quickly felt all of his senses return to him as they headed outside. They approached a small red sports car that he assumed belonged to Brittany and the curly haired teen took his mother from Kurt's arms, placing her in the back seat.

The crisp night air seemed to do Chelsea some good too. Once they were headed down the road she looked at Blaine with clear eyes and reached out to hold him close.

"I could just strangle you right now," she whispered. He let out a soft laugh and hugged her back tightly. When she pulled away though, his laughter died as they looked each other solemnly in the eye.

"I thought he was dead," he said in a hard voice. He tried desperately to keep any accusation from his tone, but couldn't help but wonder if she had intentionally kept something from him in a hope to keep him safe. He was relieved when she responded.

"I did too. I honestly don't know what's going on right now, Blaine... but I promise that I'll find out."

He nodded slowly before reaching out to hold her close again. She was all that he had left. The thought of his father's killer out there on the loose filled him with equal amounts of fear and anger. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. He would die first.

Chelsea pulled back and patted his cheek, giving him a reassuring smile. One that he noticed didn't quite reach her eyes. She glanced up to the front seat.

"I see our resident witch came to the resue once again," she said in an appreciative tone, glancing at Brittany. "Your concentration is getting much better, dear. Your fire charm was spot on. You didn't singe yourself, or any of us, this time."

Brittany smiled at her widely through the rearview mirror.

"Though," Chelsea added with a roll of her eyes, "it would have been nice to not almost be killed with toxic gases. Maybe next time we can think of a better alternative."

Brittany just shrugged and smiled once again. Kurt laughed quietly and Chelsea glanced his way.

"Have you considered what you're going to say to your father?" She asked in a soft voice. The slayer looked back at her and sighed.

"The truth. I was kind of hoping you'd back me up... seeing as the truth is ridiculously unbelievable. God knows I didn't believe it until a vamp tried to bite me. I'm kind of hoping that I don't have to purposely put my dad through that to get him to believe me."

She nodded and sent him a small smile. "I'll do my best. Some people need to come close to getting bitten before they believe. Let's hope your dad's more open minded."

Kurt lost himself in thought for a moment. Flashes of memories flew through his head. A Maria bonnet. A pair of sensible heels. Finally admitting to his dad that he was gay. The look on his dad's face, just this morning, when he had pulled the twig from his son's hair... The teen smiled. Yes, his dad was definitely open minded.

By the time they reached Kurt's house, he realized that they were being followed. There was only one, and it was keeping it's distance, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He told the other three to run for it the moment the car engine shut off.

When he threw open the front door, Burt was waiting just inside. His father snapped to attention the moment the door opened and there was a relieved yet angry flash in his eyes.

"It is ten o'clock on a school night! You didn't even call..." Burt trailed off when he took in the sight of Kurt's bandaged shoulder and looked at him in shock. His eyes only widened further when Chelsea, Blaine and Brittany hurried in behind the teen. The slayer shut the door quickly and peered out the side window, holding a hand up to silence his father.

"Anything?" Chelsea asked, pulling the curtain back from the window on the other side of the door as she glanced into the front yard.

"Well, that one is still following us, but I'm pretty sure he's just acting as a lookout. A bad lookout. He's wearing sunglasses... at night. Ridiculous."

"Ridiculous or not, he's still dangerous. Don't underestimate..."

"I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can..."he danced for a moment in place as he sang.

"Kurt, for goodness sake! Can't you take anything seriously?"

"I am! It's a defense mechanism! I can't help it! You should know by now..."

"What the hell is going on here?!" Burt shouted.

Chelsea and Kurt froze in their bickering, Blaine stopped mid-eyeroll and Brittany stopped singing (she had joined along with Kurt). Burt had a look on his face that said 'I must be dreaming', and was staring at Kurt like he had never seen him before. The reality of what he was about to do hit the boy full force, and he forced himself to take a steadying breath before he spoke.

"Just answer one question for me dad, and then I'll explain everything. Finn and Carole's cars aren't here. Are they coming home tonight?"

Burt looked at his son for a moment like he was crazy. There was something about Kurt's tone though. It was authoritative. It was serious. It was almost unnerving. Burt kept eyeing him steadily for a moment before speaking.

"Carole's working the night shift. Finn's spending the night at Puck's."

"Good," Kurt nodded, glancing to Chelsea. "I won't need to worry about them." Burt narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, who is this woman and why are you talking to her about our family? Why aren't you addressing me? Why would you need to worry about them? What the hell is going on... for the second time, now?!"

The other four people in the room winced as he yelled and Kurt swallowed his nerves.

"Sit down, dad. I have a bad arm at the moment and I'd rather not have to pick you up off the floor if you pass out on me."

"Are you okay, Mr. Hummel?" Brittany asked as she squatted down in front of the mechanic. "You look like you might be sick. I can do an anti-nausea spell if you'd like!" She clapped her hands excitedly. "I just learned it. I did it on myself when Coach Sue made me jump off the top of a building and land on a trampoline for a Cheerios stunt. It worked great!"

"Brit, that's a sweet offer but he just now found out about this whole world. Let's not completely freak him out by experimenting on him with magic. Okay?" Kurt reached out to squeeze her hand while looking at his father anxiously. Burt did indeed look like he might be sick.

It had taken an hour or so of Kurt and Chelsea taking turns, telling the whole story. From the existence of vampires to a brief history on slayers and watchers, from the first male slayer to Kurt being called... all the way to what had happened earlier this evening, sans the details that Kurt had yet to learn himself. The more they shared, the paler his face became. Now he was staring at them with an open mouth, looking like he might spew chunks at any moment.

"I know this is a lot to take in, dad. It was hard for me to believe too, at first." Kurt watched him warily, waiting for any type of response.

"I knew something was up," Burt spoke quietly. "I mean, I'll be honest. I don't really have enough of an imagination to have come up with something like this... but you've been acting weird for a while now. I kinda thought you had a secret boyfriend or something." Burt gave a humorless laugh. Kurt and Blaine glanced at each other quickly, blushing pink.

"How much danger is my son in because of this?" Burt looked Chelsea straight in the eye. She met his gaze steadily.

"It is a calling wrought with danger, but he has been blessed with amazing gifts to deal with those dangers. I've seen other slayers at work, and he is far and away the most skilled and naturally gifted of them all."

Kurt glanced at her in surprise. She had never said this to him before. He couldn't help but wonder if it was the truth or if she was saying it merely to appease his father.

"Mr. Hummel?"

Every eye in the room turned to Blaine in surprise. This was the first thing the curly haired teen had said since entering the house. He was sitting next to Chelsea on the couch, looking uncertain.

"Hi, um, we haven't really done introductions yet, it's been a little too crazy for that." Blaine smiled sheepishly and Burt smiled too for the first time. Finally, someone was talking to him and not using sentences that involved the words 'vampire' or 'magic'.

"I'm Blaine. I'm Chelsea's son and Kurt's... friend." Burt was distracted enough not to notice the slight hesitation. Kurt wasn't though, and blushed a bit, shooting Blaine a bright smile.

"I just want to say that I get it. I'm just a regular guy, like you. I'm not a Watcher, I'm not the Slayer and I don't do magic. It's scary to know that a person you love is out there fighting and doing something so dangerous. We want to protect them, or at the very least help them... but we can't. We don't have their strength, or knowledge, or abilities." Blaine carefully avoided both Chelsea and Kurt's gaze as he spoke, knowing he wouldn't be able to continue if he met their gaze.

"The truth is that these things are out there, whether we want to believe it or not. It's also the truth that there are certain among us who have been called to fight these dangers, and have been given the gift to do so. It's not a choice. It's a responsibility. A heavy one, but an honor as well. It's scary to be one of the few who know what is actually going on, but lack the same ability to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Ignorance is bliss I guess." Burt actually cracked a smile then and looked at the teen with unexpected admiration.

"Coach Sue says that's why I'm so happy all the time," Brittany whispered. Burt glanced at her like she was nuts and Kurt planted his face down in his palm. Blaine paused to raise an eyebrow at her for a moment before shaking his head to clear it and speaking to Burt once more.

"There's nothing any of us can say to make this any less shocking, or to make you any less scared for your son. Just know that you're not alone... and know that my mom is right. Kurt is amazing. He'll be fine."

Kurt swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he listened to Blaine speak. He was touched to hear Blaine praise him, but even more touched at how he was reaching out to his father. The curly haired boy seemed to be reaching the man in a way that the rest of them couldn't. The slayer turned his head back to his father as Burt rose from his seat.

"I just need some time to... process this." Burt looked at his son and Kurt quickly nodded in understanding. "Just tell me this. Are we safe in this house tonight?" He looked to Chelsea for this.

"Yes," she responded confidently. "I know our enemy well. He won't attack again tonight. I'll help Brittany place some extra wards on the house, just in case, but we are safer here than anywhere else."

Burt nodded then looked back at Kurt. He pointed to his son's shoulder and spoke in a rough voice.

"Do I need to take you to the hospital? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, dad," Kurt responded, wanting to reassure him. "Those gifts everyone keeps bringing up include the ability to knit my skin back together very quickly. Plus, Brit helped with a little healing potion when the wound was fresh." He flexed his arm and shoulder slightly, testing it. He already had partial movement back. "See? If I didn't think that golf was boring as hell I'd be out there whacking balls in no time." He pretended he didn't see Blaine turn and look at him pointedly, trying to keep a smirk from his face.

Burt nodded, still looking thrown, but genuinely relieved. He glanced around at the other three.

"I'm assuming you're all straying here tonight?"

Kurt was about to respond in the affirmative when Chelsea spoke up.

"I would be so grateful if Blaine were able to stay with you. I need to catch a red-eye tonight though." Both boys looked at her in shock. She sighed and walked over to the teens, placing a hand on both of their shoulders.

"I don't want to leave you, either of you. Kurt, I know you have questions. Blaine, I know you have even more. I have to leave to find the answers." Blaine started to argue but she interrupted him. "I know what you're going to say, but I have to be there in person. This is not the kind of thing that I can research from afar. I'm going now, while its safest, so that I can get back to you before things come to a head again." She looked to them both for a confirmation that they understood. They both hesitated and glanced at each other before nodding slowly.

"I want you to stay here. Both of you, the whole time. Do not leave this house." Kurt opened his mouth, looking annoyed, but she held up a finger and shushed him. "I mean it! No patrolling. This is like nothing you've faced before and I won't have you going out ill-prepared." She looked pointedly at his shoulder and he knew exactly what that look meant. A fews inches down and it could have been much worse. A few inches down and they would have been carrying his body home. He wasn't invincible. He wasn't immortal. She couldn't say this in front of his father though. Not after they had just convinced him that Kurt would be fine. He sighed, then nodded. She quickly turned to Blaine and took his hands in hers, speaking to him quietly.

"I'm so sorry I have to leave again, baby. I don't want to. I will be back soon, with answers." He took a deep breath and nodded quickly, pulling her into a hug.

"I love you, mom. Please be careful."

"I love you too. I will, and the same goes for you. Don't you leave this house."

She squeezed him tightly once more before letting go regretfully. She surprised Kurt by pulling him in for a quick hug too and whispering as quietly as possible, "Please keep him safe. Keep both of you safe." He nodded into her shoulder, hugging her back.

As she walked over to thank Burt and shake his hand, Kurt spoke up to Brittany.

"So, you're staying here tonight. Right, boo?"

"I can't," she sighed. "Lord Tubbington keeps buying bogus potions online when I'm not home. He wants to be turned into a flying, superhero cat. The last one ended up making my whole bedroom sprout mushrooms and smell like feta cheese. I've told him I'll do it myself when I figure out how, but he's too impatient." She shrugged and turned around to follow Chelsea to the door. Kurt couldn't help but snort a laugh and Blaine just stood there looking beyond confused, convinced he had somehow heard her wrong.

Kurt and Chelsea did a quick sweep together outside to confirm that their tail was gone. The slayer stepped back in and the witch joined Chelsea in the yard.

Both boys and Burt went to the window and watched Chelsea and Brittany for a few moments as they paced the house, placing extra wards to keep those inside safe. Burt tugged on Kurt's good arm after a second and pulled him off to the side. Kurt glanced at Blaine before quickly following his father.

They stood looking at each other in silence. Kurt was starting to feel nervous, waiting for his dad to say something. Anything. Burt slowly nodded his head and then reached out to pull the boy into his arms for a gentle hug, careful not to squeeze his injury. Kurt sighed in relief and let himself relax in his father's arms. He never got to let his guard down. He never got to be the one who was taken care of. It felt really nice to just be held by his dad. Burt pulled back and looked his son in the eye, gripping Kurt's good shoulder in his hand.

"Look, I won't pretend I understand all of this... but I believe you. I trust you. I love you. I'm there, Kurt. For whatever you need."

Kurt blinked rapidly and willed away tears that threatened to escape.

"Thanks, dad," he whispered. "I love you too. You don't know how much that means to me." Burt shrugged and smiled.

"I can imagine how you'd feel, telling me something about yourself that you'd be afraid I wouldn't accept. As I remember, we've been down that road before, kid. I accepted and loved you then. I'm accepting you and loving you now." Kurt stared for a moment before throwing his right arm around his father to hug him tightly once again.

"You're the best dad ever. I am so thankful for you." Burt patted him on the back before pulling away and sighing heavily.

"I'm exhausted, bud. I need some sleep before I have to open the garage tomorrow." He turned to Blaine who had left the window and was observing their interactions with a small smile.

"I'm glad to have met you tonight, Blaine. Kurt doesn't bring his friends around very often... even if this was kind of under duress," he smiled with a wink. Kurt looked like he wanted to sink into the floor, but Blaine laughed.

"I'd have loved to meet you under better circumstances, but I'm glad to meet you all the same, sir. Thank you so much for letting me stay."

Burt waved his hand as if to say that it was nothing, and turned to head toward the stairs. He spoke over his shoulder as he went.

"The couch is uncomfortable as hell. I'd say you could have Finn's room since he's gone, but even I can't stand how much that place smells. Kurt has a nice queen sized bed though. I'm sure you guys can handle bunking together for a night. Sleep good guys."

Both teens stared at him with wide eyes before turning to each other slowly.

Holy crap.