Blaine's eyes flew open as he jolted out of his sleep, terror pulsing through his veins. His ribs ached in protest as he gasped for breath. His heart was pounding, and he couldn't get enough oxygen in his lungs. His instincts were pushing him to run, but every nerve screamed when he tried to move. He wrapped an arm around his chest and shut his eyes again, sinking back in defeat as he rode out the pain.

"You all right, sweetie?"

Blaine started at the sudden voice, wincing at the jarring movement. Breathing through his nose, Blaine opened his eyes to see a woman he didn't recognize in scrubs standing at his bedside, some kind of clipboard in hand. He frowned in confusion, panic rising in his gut again as gray edged in on the corners of his vision, but then he glanced around the dim room with curtains pulled shut and chairs and beeping machines...

Oh, right. He was in the hospital. Not whenever he had been.

He looked back at the woman-nurse, his brain supplied-and nodded. "Yeah," he rasped. If he was in a hospital bed, that sense of dread that was finally receding could only have come from a "Nightmare."

The nurse's expression softened. "Do you want to talk about it? After a traumatic event, the brain sometimes sorts through the memories subconsciously as a defense mechanism. Through dreams."

Blaine bit his lip, the words traumatic event echoing in his ears. He'd been hearing phrases like that in the brief moments he'd been awake since finding Cooper and Kurt in his room-"You were attacked."-but he couldn't remember it. He could still remember that night outside of the Westerville High gym at his first Sadie Hawkins dance, could still hear the sound of his breaking bones and smell his own blood, but this...

He was drawing a blank.

Everything since sitting at the piano to work on his audition piece for NYADA was just gone, as though it had never happened.

As though it didn't matter.

Hell, he couldn't even remember what he'd just been dreaming about. All he had left was a feeling of pure terror and a racing pulse, and even those were fading as his hospital room-the one he'd been moved into a few hours earlier-came into clearer focus. He had no way of telling if that had to do with whatever had happened either. Maybe it was a dream about Sadie Hawkins...

The more he thought about it, the less he was sure he even wanted to remember.

Blaine shook his head at the nurse, who was still watching him. "I don't remember it. The nightmare."

The nurse gave him an understanding nod and flipped his chart closed. "It's okay," she assured him. "Do you need anything before I go back out on rounds?"

"No. Thank you."

"I'll let you rest then," she said, heading out the door and shutting it behind her.

Blaine sighed and stared up at the ceiling. His entire body ached as he listened to the beeping machines and waited for the next dose of morphine to pull him under again.

-----

Kurt, his dad, and Cooper were sitting around Blaine's bed when the police returned. It was around noon and Blaine had been awake for about ten minutes when Officers Andrews and Mendoza walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt," Mendoza said, looking around the room, nodding at each man.

"It's good to see you awake, Blaine," Andrews added. When Blaine frowned in confusion, the officer smiled. "I'm Officer Andrews. This is my partner, Officer Mendoza. We're working your case," he explained.

It visibly took Blaine a moment to register what that meant; Kurt knew that despite his injuries and being in the hospital, Blaine was having a hard time connecting with the idea that he'd actually been attacked. Kurt couldn't imagine what it must be like to lose time like that, to have people around who remembered being with him when he couldn't, so he wasn't surprised that Blaine was struggling. Kurt doubted he'd be doing much better in Blaine's place.

Blaine'd been a bit out of it when he'd woken up, but Kurt just attributed it to the pain killers, especially since he was slowly becoming more coherent the longer he stayed awake. When it came to medication, Blaine always had been a lightweight-Nyquil knocked him out hard, which Kurt supposed shouldn't have surprised him since Blaine couldn't hold his alcohol either.

"Oh," was all Blaine managed to reply. He looked down and started picking at the blanket covering his lower half with his good hand.

"Did something happen?" Burt asked, leaning forward in his chair. Kurt had shared what Sebastian had told him about identifying their third suspect the night before, but beyond that, they were in the dark about the investigation.

Mendoza shook his head. "We're just here for Blaine's statement."

Kurt froze before glancing at Blaine, who'd paused in his imaginary lint picking, though his head was still lowered. Oh, this wouldn't be good.

"Don't our parents need to be here for you to speak with him?" Cooper demanded, glancing between Blaine and the officers. Obviously he'd had the same thought.

Andrews shook his head. "He's 18, so no."

"Then can't it wait?"

"Unfortunately, no," Andrews replied. He at least sounded apologetic.

"Blaine, we want to get the people that did this to you," Mendoza said gently. "But to do that, we need to know what you remember about that night."

Blaine's breath hitched and his hand tightened in the blanket, knuckles turning white. "I..."

"Anything you can tell us, no matter how small, will be helpful."

"You haven't talked to the nurses, have you?" Cooper said, eyeing the officers coolly.

"They called to tell us Blaine was awake," Andrews replied, giving Cooper a curios look. "That was it."

"You should know-" Cooper started, but Blaine cut him off.

"I don't remember."

Kurt ached to hear the frustration and defeat in Blaine's weak voice. He reached out and took Blaine's hand in his own and squeezed it in support. After a moment, Blaine squeezed back, though he still didn't look up.

"Nothing?" Mendoza pressed.

Blaine shook his head. "Nothing after Sunday evening. I'm sorry." The last words were barely a whisper.

"That's okay, Blaine," Andrews said quickly. "We have enough evidence to charge our suspects without your statement."

"Suspects?" Blaine asked sharply, finally raising his head. There was a look on his face that Kurt wasn't entirely sure how to read. Blaine eyed the officers warily. "You know who did this?"

"Do you recognize any of these men?" Mendoza asked instead of answering directly, pulling out three photos from a folder and putting them on the bed in front of Blaine.

Blaine looked at the pictures for a brief moment before he stiffened and his face drained of color. "Roy Matthews. Nick Hewitt. Eric Mitchell," he said, shakily pointing to each picture with his splinted fingers. He looked up and glanced between the officers. "Them?" he asked in a strained whisper.

"We have a witness who identified them, yes," Mendoza told him.

Sebastian. If Blaine hadn't called Sebastian that night, there would be no evidence to pin Blaine's attack on the three men that had brutally beaten Blaine not once, but twice now. He might loathe the other boy, but Kurt would always be grateful that Blaine had called him and that he'd stayed on the line. Not that he'd ever tell Sebastian that.

"How do you know them?" Andrews asked, pulling a notebook out of a pocket and flipping it to a clean page.

"They, uh..." Blaine swallowed and Kurt squeezed his good hand again. Blaine took a deep breath before speaking again. "Freshman year. They attacked me. And another boy," he explained haltingly.

Andrews was taking notes as Blaine spoke. Kurt frowned, wondering what good it did, hearing about a four year old attack.

"Do you know why they attacked you and your friend, Blaine?"

Blaine opened his mouth but shut it again, glancing nervously between the police. Finally he glanced at Kurt, who knew immediately what he was worried about. He'd been worried about the same thing when he'd first met the officers.

"It's okay, Blaine," Kurt said quietly, remembering the look on Andrews face as he'd talked about his sister. "They just want to help."

Blaine searched Kurt's face for a long moment before sighing and looking back at the officers. "I took him to a Sadie Hawkins dance. They," he said, nodding toward the photos, "didn't like it."

"And what is this other boy's name?" Mendoza asked without missing a beat.

"Josh. Josh Sanders." Blaine seemed thoughtful for a moment, and Kurt wondered not for the first time about this other boy. There was no jealousy, just simple curiosity. "He was a sophomore and the only other out guy in school."

"What happened after the dance?"

Blaine looked like he was going to be sick at the question, and he screwed his eyes shut. Kurt knew those memories had eaten Blaine alive for a long time; he rarely spoke about them, but their impact was ever-present. Kurt could still picture Blaine across from him at Breadstix, telling him, "These three guys, they beat the living crap out of us" like it had cost him something precious. Kurt's stomach sank and he opened his mouth to say something, but Cooper beat him to it.

"Are these questions really necessary?" Blaine's brother demanded. "Are they really going to help with this case?"

"Yes. It will give us more to go on," Andrews said firmly, though not unkindly. "And the statute of limitations on a hate crime hasn't run out if it's only been four years."

Kurt inhaled sharply.

Cooper's eyes widened. "You mean-"

"You can charge the bastards for the last attack as well as this one?" Burt said, speaking for the first time since the officers had entered the room.

Mendoza nodded. "That's what we're hoping."

"They'll go away for a long time," Andrews added, looking directly at Blaine.

Blaine's glassy eyes were wide and his mouth agape, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Our... Back then, our lawyer said there wasn't enough evidence. To press charges," he said quietly.

Cooper's hands tightened around the arm rests on his chair. He was visibly seething-and something loosened in Kurt's chest; seeing the protective older brother side of Cooper was somehow a relief.

"That son of a bitch told you that?" Cooper nearly growled.

Blaine shrugged, wincing as he jarred his ribs. He avoided everyone's gaze as he slumped back into his pillows, looking suddenly exhausted-and not just physically. His eyes drooped shut as he spoke, his voice hoarse.

"There weren't any witnesses but me and Josh. It was the word of two gay kids against three varsity football players." In homophobic Westerville, Ohio, was left unspoken on the air.

Kurt felt his blood boil at the words-and the small voice they'd come out in-as he couldn't help but picture a 13-year-old Blaine, even smaller than he was now, lying broken in a hospital bed and being told that he couldn't do anything about the men that had nearly killed him just for being who he was. He'd essentially been told that he wasn't worth the legal protection that a straight person was. God. He must've felt so powerless.

"Blaine," he murmured, rubbing his thumb over the back of Blaine's hand.

"Kid," Burt added at the same time. Kurt glanced at his father and shared a sad look before turning back to Blaine.

"We're going to try to change that," Andrews said. "And the more you can tell us, Blaine, the better our chances of getting the charges to stick."

Blaine was silent for a long moment-long enough that Kurt thought he might have fallen asleep again-but finally he nodded. "Okay," he breathed. "What do you need to know?"

For the next half hour, Blaine told the story of the night of Sadie Hawkins in as much detail as he could remember. Kurt felt sick as Blaine haltingly described Eric jumping him while Roy and Nick focused on Josh, until Josh went down, so they turned on Blaine. In a detached voice, Blaine described being kicked and hit with a crowbar and having slurs hurled at him while he begged them to stop.

Blaine's breath hitched as he talked about the pain and the certainty that he was going to die before he lost consciousness. He swallowed as he described waking up in the hospital two days later and never finding out what happened to Josh, other than his transfer to another school. And he concluded with how he went through rehab for long enough that by the time he transferred to Dalton that spring, it was too late for him to get credit for his freshman year, forcing him to repeat the grade.

As Blaine finished speaking, Kurt realized there were tears falling down his own cheeks. He'd never heard this much of the story; he'd tried imagining the details, of course, after Blaine had told him the bare bone basics, but the reality seemed so much worse-worse because it was real. And he couldn't believe that Blaine had kept so much of it to himself all this time. He wiped at his cheeks surreptitiously, but his dad gave him a knowing look.

By the time the officers had thanked Blaine and left him with their cards in case he remembered anything, Blaine looked completely hollowed out. That he'd stayed awake this long was amazing in itself, but combined with the pain of his injuries and the emotional wounds the story had reopened, it practically seemed like a miracle. But Kurt also knew that Blaine could be stubborn; he'd obviously just wanted to get it over with.

"Blaine, are you-" Cooper started, but Blaine shook his head tiredly.

"I just need some sleep, Coop," he murmured.

"Okay, bro."

Blaine's eyes slid shut and his breathing evened out within seconds. The room fell into a tense silence, Blaine's story hanging over them like a storm cloud.

"I knew what had happened," Cooper said after a while.

Kurt started at the words, pulling his eyes from his sleeping ex to look at Cooper. He looked wrecked as he watched his little brother sleep.

"But?" Kurt prompted when no other words seemed forthcoming.

"I wasn't there," Cooper replied, running a hand through his hair. "I left home at 18. Blaine was only 8 and I was off to L.A. to get my ‘big break,'" he said, adding air quotes. He snorted at himself. "God. Worst phone call of my life, my parents telling me that my brother's in a coma and they didn't know if he was going to wake up because some assholes had nearly beaten him to death."

"Did you know then? That he was gay?" Kurt clarified when Cooper looked up at him.

Cooper studied Kurt for a moment before turning back to Blaine. "Yeah. He came out to me before our parents. I'd come home for Memorial Day that summer. He was so scared that he babbled on and on before finally just spitting it out. ‘I'm gay, Coop.' I told him I didn't care-just as long as he found someone to treat him right." He sighed. "I wasn't there when he told our parents, though." He shook his head, shoulders drooping. "Just another regret on a long list of ‘em."

Kurt was taken aback at how serious Cooper was being in the moment, having been used to the older man being far more energetic and, well, ridiculous. But family tragedy tended to bring out seriousness in even the most over-the-top people.

"I think you did more good than you realize," Burt said quietly. Kurt looked over at his dad in surprise, but Burt just kept speaking. "Kid probably wouldn't've come out to your parents at all if you hadn't made him feel like he could."

Cooper seemed startled by the words. "I-"

"Give yourself some credit," Burt finished with a nod at Cooper before pushing himself to his feet. "I'm starved. Gonna hit the cafeteria. Anyone want to join?"

Kurt nodded, slipping his hand from Blaine's limp grasp. "I'll come. Someone has to keep an eye on your food selection." Burt rolled his eyes fondly but didn't argue.

"Maybe in a while," Cooper said absently, already looking back at Blaine.

Burt threw an arm around Kurt's shoulders as they left the room, leaving Cooper with his brother. They were a few steps down the hallway when Kurt brought them to a halt. Burt raised an eyebrow in a silent question, but Kurt just threw his arms around his father, feeling the sudden need to show his dad how much he appreciated the things he'd said back in Blaine's room. Kurt seriously had the best dad ever.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Burt sounded pleased, if a bit nonplussed.

Kurt smiled as he pulled back. "For all of that. For just... being you. Thank you."

"Anytime?"

Kurt shook his head but was still smiling as they started walking to the cafeteria again.

-----

Sebastian took a deep breath as he walked down the halls of the hospital, following the nurse's directions to Blaine's new room. He'd wanted to come earlier, especially since it was the last day before Spring Break, but he'd had to stay after school to talk with some of his teachers about the class he'd missed while visiting Blaine at the hospital as well as turn in the work he'd done in his absence. He'd also dropped by the library to promise the Warblers an update once he'd seen for himself that Blaine was awake and responsive; Kurt telling him was one thing, but seeing it was quite another.

He paused outside of the door with Blaine's name on it and took a deep breath, shoving down memories of the phone call, of finding Blaine's beaten body in the parking lot, of waiting to hear whether Blaine would live. No. Blaine was awake and he was going to be okay. Kurt had said he had lost his memories of the day of the attack, and Sebastian wasn't going to dwell when Blaine himself couldn't.

He squared his shoulders and knocked on the door. Without waiting for a reply, he opened it and stepped inside. He peripherally noticed that Kurt, Cooper, and Kurt's father were present in chairs scattered around the room, but his eyes immediately went to the figure in the bed.

Blaine still looked tiny, but there were fewer machines hooked up to him, so he didn't seem completely dwarfed anymore. He'd regained some color and his visible bruises looked like they'd begun fading.

But, most importantly, his eyes were open. He'd been saying something quietly to Cooper when he'd turned to see who his visitor was. Blaine smiled when his gaze locked on Sebastian's; he looked tired, with slightly gazed eyes from the pain meds, but happy to see Sebastian. Relief flooded through Sebastian at the sight and all the tension he'd been carrying that week seemed to drain from him at once, nearly taking his knees out from under him.

"Sebastian," Blaine greeted. His voice was low and slightly rough, as though he didn't have the energy to give it any more power, but Sebastian heard him loud and clear. He couldn't remember hearing anything sweeter.

Cooper shifted in his seat, leaning back and crossing his arms, but remained silent. Why Cooper didn't approve of him but was fine with Blaine's ex being in the room was a mystery to Sebastian, but he let it go. Burt, who'd looked up over a magazine, returned to it, though Sebastian doubted the man was actually reading Good Housekeeping.

"Hey Killer," Sebastian replied, shutting the door behind him once he was sure his legs would work and walking over to Blaine's bedside, all while ignoring Kurt's disapproving look. "Welcome back."

Blaine's smile briefly faltered, and Sebastian mentally kicked himself. What had he said?

"Good to be back. I guess." Blaine shook his head, the movement tight, as a pained look crossed his face. "I guess I saw you before this?" he asked after a moment, gesturing at himself with his splinted hand.

Sebastian grimaced. While Blaine didn't remember, Sebastian was certain he'd never be able forget anything about that night. "Yeah. We ran into each other at Starbucks Monday evening."

"That's what Kurt said." Blaine's look seemed to be asking for Sebastian to elaborate on what had happened. Were the others not filling in the gaps for him?

Sebastian glanced at Kurt, who gave him a level stare, before shrugging. "Kurt here wasn't real happy that we've been playing nice since he left, but you told him to get over it."

Kurt huffed but Sebastian just smirked, and Blaine let out a weak laugh. "Yeah?"

"Basically," Kurt said with a sigh.

Blaine's lips quirked up in a smile, and Sebastian counted that as a win. Even Kurt didn't seem inclined to continue the argument when Blaine looked happy. Sebastian knew how he felt; he'd do anything to keep that look on Blaine's face-especially when, for most of the week, he wasn't sure he'd ever see it again.

"Actually," Sebastian added, getting to the goal of his visit, which would hopefully put a bigger smile on Blaine's face, "I also invited you to a pre-Spring Break Warbler party tonight."

Blaine frowned. "Oh. I'm sorry-"

Sebastian waved him off before he could finish that thought; this was supposed to be a good surprise. "The guys really want to see you so were hoping to bring the party to you."

Blaine's eyes lit up, but Kurt frowned. "Is that a good idea?"

Sebastian knew Kurt was still sore over the Warblers' treatment of him and Blaine the previous year. While the group had reached out to Blaine after his injury, no one had really made the same effort for Kurt even though he'd also been a Warbler. It was probably petty, but there were also some hard feelings on the Warbler end toward Kurt and the hooks he'd gotten into Blaine, but Sebastian didn't think this was the time to bring it up. Besides, this wasn't about Kurt and what he wanted.

"Visiting hours end at eight," Cooper pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "And you'd have to keep it down."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "That's rich, coming from you, Coop."

Cooper's jaw dropped in mock indignation. "Blainey. You wound me."

"I don't know if the nursing staff would go for that," Burt pointed out quietly as the brothers bantered good-naturedly. The words between the Andersons were quiet, since Blaine didn't seem to have much energy, but the fond tone was apparent.

Sebastian turned to Kurt's father. "It would only be a few of us-me and the guys who were with Blaine when he was at Dalton. The seniors," he explained. "And we wouldn't stay too long."

Burt considered him a moment before nodding. "I suppose Cooper and I could head home early for the night, give you boys some time."

"Dad-" Kurt began to protest.

But Burt shook his head. "Did you see Blaine's face, Kurt? He wants to see them."

The fight seemed to drain out of Kurt at that. "Fine."

"Great!" Sebastian said with more enthusiasm than the decision probably deserved, but it gained him Blaine's attention and a dirty look from Kurt. "I'll bring a few of the guys over around six?"

Blaine's smile widened. "Can't wait."

Kurt glanced at Blaine's expression and wisely, Sebastian thought, didn't say anything. Instead, he pushed himself to his feet. "I'll make sure Sebastian gets out all right. We're in a new part of the hospital and all."

Blaine yawned and nodded. "See you in f'w hours," he said, words beginning to slur slightly. New dose of medication?

"Yeah," Sebastian agreed as Kurt ushered him out of the room.

When the door shut behind them, Kurt rounded on him. "Look, Sebastian," he said, voice low so it wouldn't carry through the door, "I know Blaine wants to see the Warblers. And I know you guys have been mending fences. Blaine is obviously more forgiving than I am. But we need to be thinking about what's best for his recovery."

"Oh?" Sebastian countered, crossing his arms against his chest and raising a skeptical eyebrow. "And what's that, Hummel?"

"Surrounding him with people who actually care about him."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed in irritation. "Are we really going to have this conversation again?"

Kurt shook his head and dropped his hands to his sides. "For reasons I'll never understand, he cares about you. And you..." Kurt trailed off but then shook his head. "I believe you, okay? But honestly? The only other Warbler I'd trust near Blaine right now is Wes, and he's in California."

"Look Kurt, whatever issues you personally have with the Warblers, don't you think it's time to set them aside for Blaine's sake?" Sebastian retorted.

He thought back to the worried faces that met him at his dorm each time he came back from the hospital, asking for updates; to the text messages he'd been getting-and the ones the guys said Kurt had been ignoring-about Blaine; and to the relief that had been palpable in the library when he'd told the group that Blaine was awake. It was all genuine; they truly cared about him, show choir rivalries aside.

"Believe it or not," he continued coolly, "they've been insanely worried about him all week. I could barely keep them from storming the hospital to find out how he was doing. And you know it'll make him happy. Don't you want to do anything to make him happy, especially right now?"

Kurt's mouth worked wordlessly for a moment before he rubbed a hand over his face. "Fine. But just remember he's been sleeping more than he's awake, with the head injury and the pain meds. He's already pushed himself today, so there's a good chance he'll fall asleep ten minutes in."

"Then we'll leave," Sebastian replied with a shrug. "They just want to see him and let him know that they're thinking about him. Don't his McKinley friends want to do the same thing?"

Kurt deflated. "Fine," he repeated.

"If it makes you feel better, Hummel, we won't mind if you play chaperone," Sebastian added with a wink before heading down the hallway.

"You're an ass, you know that?" Kurt called after him.

Sebastian just waved without looking back. He had two hours to round up some Warblers and plan some kind of hospital-appropriate surprise. And if it pissed Kurt off and made Blaine smile-not necessarily in that order-all the better.