Burt gets a call in the afternoon from Blaine. When the boy starts to speak, Burt can barely figure out the words he’s saying.

     “Can you come pick us up please? Please, Burt.”

     Burt is instantly terrified when he realizes that Blaine is sobbing, and that he can hear Kurt crying in the background, too.

     “Are you at school? Are you safe?” Burt demands.

     There’s a shuffling noise and Burt worries that he’s being hung up on, but then a new voice comes on the phone.

     “Burt, are you still there?” It’s Will Schuester.

     “Yeah, I am.” Burt answers. “What the hell’s going on, Will?”

     “Your boys are safe, Burt. They’re perfectly fine. We, uh, we just found out some upsetting news.”

     Upsetting news? What could it possibly be now? Burt hopes to God that it’s just something to do with their regionals song selection.

     “Okay, I’ll be there real soon.” Burt says, already picking up his keys. “You’ll stay with them, right, Will?”

     “Of course, Burt.” Will replies. “Emma’s here, too. They’ll be fine.”

     Burt drives fairly recklessly on his way to the school. As much as he’d like to believe Will that his boys are fine, he doesn’t. He pulls into the parking lot and runs to the choir room. He finds all of the glee kids sitting around, some on the floor, some on chairs. Most are hugging each other and several are crying. It’s one of the worst things Burt thinks he’s ever seen.

      And then he sees Kurt and Blaine. Kurt is still crying, but now he’s also half shouting, half moaning.

     “It’s all my fault. Oh my God, oh my God. Why didn’t I answer the phone?!”

     Blaine’s clutching Kurt to him, trying to calm his boyfriend while he himself sobs, too. Emma’s kneeling in front of Kurt, speaking in a calm soothing voice. Will comes up beside Burt.

     “We’d just started practice when Emma came to the door. Figgins had gotten a phone call that David Karofsky tried to kill himself.”

     Burt leans against the wall as his knees go weak.

     “Tried?” He whispers.

     “When his dad found him, he still had a pulse, but they’re not sure how much damage he’s done. He’s still unconscious, and they’re not sure yet if he’s going to wake up.”

     “Do they know - ?” Burt says, trying to speak, but struggling to find words. “Why did he - ?”

     Will shifts uncomfortably, and Burt doesn’t miss the way his eyes dart to Kurt and back.

     “Well, apparently, some of the guys at David’s new school started a rumour that he’s gay. They were spreading it everywhere, vandalizing his locker and writing hate on his Facebook page.”

     Burt remembers so clearly the moment that he found out that Dave had threatened to kill Kurt. He remembers genuinely wanting to kill the boy. But now, things are so different. Burt’s biggest nightmare had just come true for another boy’s father: that his son would try to kill himself because of bullies. There is so much irony in the thought that Kurt’s bully was being bullied, but Burt kicks it out of his mind. He’s heard enough and done enough thinking.

     He crosses the room quickly to where Kurt and Blaine are. He crouches down beside Emma and pulls both boys into his arms.

     “Kurt. Blaine. I’m here now. It’s okay. Do you still want to come home?”

     “Burt, I’m not sure that’s the best idea.” Emma interrupts. “In times like this, it’s often best for the students to be together – ”

     Burt gets what she’s saying, but no one knows these boys better than Burt. They don’t need the other Glee kids now, not at all.

     “I hear you, but you must realize that they’re processing this differently from everyone else. It’s different for them. Surely you’ve noticed that.”

     Emma nods, and Burt sees a bit of pain in her eyes as she thinks about how deeply this hits the boys.

     “I’m not going to let them out of my sight. I’ll bring them in early tomorrow to talk to you, okay?”

     Emma nods again, giving a weak smile before moving over to check on Puck.

     Blaine starts to stand up, and helps Kurt to his feet. The moment Kurt is standing, Blaine wraps both arms around him and whispers something in Kurt’s ear. Burt doesn’t hear it, doesn’t try to, but it must have helped because the two boys start walking towards the hallway together. Burt makes eye contact with Finn, who has a stunned look on his face as he hugs Rachel. Finn nods, as if telling Burt to leave without him. Sam’s got his back to Burt as he tries to calm Quinn down. Burt asks Will to keep an eye on Finn and Sam, and the look Will responds with makes Burt confident that no one in Glee is going to slip through the cracks or go unnoticed.

     Kurt and Blaine are silent as they head to the car. Burt gets behind the wheel and the boys sit together in the back. When they arrive home, the boys curl up together on the couch. Burt goes into the kitchen, trying to give them some space, but thinking he can still monitor them. The boys are too upset to be able to have a meaningful, beneficial discussion, Burt decides, so until they are able to truly process the event, he’s going to make sure that nothing happens to either boy.

     He knows why Emma wanted the boys to stay: she’s worried about contagion. The loss of a peer to suicide can often lead to the deaths of other students, particularly those who were already mentally ill or suicidal. Even though Dave might very well pull through, there’s still the horrible possibility of attempts by more students. Kurt was never that badly off, as far as Burt knows, even in his darkest days, but Burt is still worried about him, particularly since it sounded like he felt responsible, one of the most common responses to suicide.

     Burt is seriously worried about Blaine. Even though he’d never admitted to being suicidal, Blaine’s history of self-harm makes him particularly susceptible.

     Burt sits down, his head in his hands. This is just too much to worry about. He calls Carole, and leaves a message on her voicemail, asking her to come home whenever she can. It’s too much to deal with on his own.

     Burt heads back into the living room, deciding to sit and watch the boys. As he sits down, he notices that both boys’ eyes are closed, their breathing even. After a few moments, Burt realizes that Blaine isn’t actually asleep. He’s holding Kurt tightly to him, holding in his sobs so as to not wake up his boyfriend.

     “Blaine.” Burt says softly, hoping not to startle him. “You can get up if you want. You won’t wake him.”

     Burt isn’t sure that Blaine has heard him, until he starts to move slowly, removing his arm from underneath Kurt and tenderly placing Kurt’s head on the arm of the couch. He climbs over the opposite arm and leaves the living room. Burt follows him, and they sit down together at the kitchen table.

     “I know what you’re thinking, Burt.” Blaine says, nearly as soon as they’re seated. “You’re trying to figure out if Kurt and I were ever suicidal, aren’t you.”

     Burt hates moments like this where Blaine seems to know him just as well as he knows himself. He frowns a little bit, trying to answer without saying yes or sounding foolish.

     “It’s crossed my mind.” He says finally.

     “Shall we start with Kurt, then?” Blaine offers. Burt’s confused.

     “Okay.” Burt replies, his voice hesitant.

     “I first met Kurt when he was at his lowest. And even then, I could tell by the look in his eyes that even though he’d been beaten down, he wasn’t going to give in. Kurt’s unbelievably strong like that. What did the bullies want more than anything? For him to go away. So Kurt would do anything to make his situation better, but he wouldn’t do that. When we talked about him switching, he kept saying “But that’s letting them win, Blaine.” I told him he was wrong, and then as soon as Karofsky kissed him - ”

     Blaine pauses, realizing his slip. His eyes widen. Burt hopes that he misheard.

     “What did you just say, Blaine?” Burt demands, his voice so low it was almost a growl.

     “Um. The day that I met Kurt, I’d told him to confront his bully, let the bully know that he couldn’t be pushed around.” Blaine says, embarrassment crossing his face.

     “What?” Burt can’t believe that Blaine could have been that stupid.

     “I know, I know, it was the worst advice that I could have given him. So he did what I suggested and confronted Karofsky. And Karofsky kissed him.”

     Burt swears. He knew that there was so much more to the whole situation. Kurt had good survival instincts, which was why Burt didn’t understand at the time why he was so reluctant to report the death threat. But here was a perfect example of Kurt being too nice to people. His bully had assaulted him, and he never reported it, because he didn’t want to out the boy. Of course Kurt had responded so violently when Finn outed Santana. Finn did it for revenge, and Kurt wouldn’t even do it when his life was threatened.

     “And you knew this?” Burt asks.

     Blaine nods.

     “He called me right after, in tears. I went and picked him up and we just sat in the park for a few hours. He told me the next day that it had been his first real kiss, and I remember wishing so much that it had been with me.”

     “Are there any more secrets?”

     “Huh?” Blaine asks, tilting his head to one side.

     “I just feel like the two have been keeping a lot of stuff from me. And I get that you’re teenagers and all but there’s just so many bad things happening, and it’s always to do with the stuff you’re keeping from me.” Burt says, his frustration leaking out.

     “Burt.” Blaine replies, his voice is calm, but there’s a touch of hurt there, too. “If Kurt had told you, straight away that Dave had kissed him, what would you have done?”

     “Gone straight to Figgins.” Burt answers immediately.

     “And told him about the kiss?” Blaine shoots back.

     “I probably would have.”

     “So you would have outed a teenager?” Blaine continues.

     Burt gets what Blaine means, but he refuses to admit that he’s wrong.

     “How many things are there that you wouldn’t do if you thought Kurt’s life was threatened?” Burt replies.

     “Burt, please. You know you’re being unreasonable. Kurt and I both have good judgement, you know that. We don’t keep things from you for the sake of it. And, I mean, we tell you a hell of a lot. For goodness sake, we gave you our STI test result sheets. We’re incredibly upfront and honest about things. You have to trust us that if we’re keeping something from you, we have a good reason.”

     “That’s hard for me.” Burt whispers, thinking about seeing the boys crying in the choir room.

     “That’s why I’ll tell you about me, now.”

     Burt angles his head to one side, confused.

     “You were worried about Kurt and me. I told you about Kurt, and now I’ll tell you about me.”

     Burt knows he’s being redirected and that this is an attempt to regain his trust. But he doesn’t say any of this because he does really want to know about Blaine. 

     “I never tried to kill myself. Some nights when I was cutting I considered cutting deeper, just to see what would happen, but I never did it. I was never as brave as Kurt; there were definitely times when I did consider it. It was in the back of my mind, an escape route, as if I was thinking “Well, if things don’t get better, I can always try cutting deeper.” But I never did it. I was too scared to.”

     “I’m really glad you didn’t.” Burt says. He can’t think of anything else to say.

     “I am, too. So you don’t have to worry about me.” Blaine replies, leaning closer to Burt and forcing eye contact. He speaks slowly for emphasis. “I really like my life right now. There are days that suck, yes, but they are the minority. Two years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me about me and Kurt. But since I have all this now, there’s no way I’m ever going to let it go.”

     “But the cutting?” Burt asks. For how good Blaine feels, he still talks about cutting a lot.

     “I haven’t cut for a whole year now. A year. That’s incredible. I’m not going to say I’m cured, but I think my chances are pretty good. It’s not something that’s easy to get into.”

     “Huh?” Burt doesn’t understand what Blaine means.

     “Well, the first time a person cuts, it normally doesn’t feel all that good.” Blaine says with a sigh. “They know people that do it, or they’ve heard that it’s good, so they try it. And it’s not what they hoped. It just hurts. But then they try it again. In time, it does become the catharsis that you’re craving. But I know that if I were to cut now, it wouldn’t feel good. It would just be painful. So that’s part of why I haven’t for over a year now.”

     This doesn’t entirely comfort Burt. It’s almost as if Blaine is saying that if he was able to find comfort in cutting, he would still be cutting.

     Burt’s just about to mention this concern when he hears Kurt roll over on the couch. Burt and Blaine are silent, listening to hear if Kurt’s woken up.

     “Blaine?” A weak voice calls out from the living room.

     “I’m here, sweetheart.” Blaine calls back, getting up and going back to the room. “I was just in the kitchen with your dad.”

     And Burt is left sitting alone at the table. He doesn’t feel comforted by Blaine’s words, although he knows he probably should be. It must be because he doesn’t yet know how bad the news truly is – will Karofsky be able to pull through?

     Burt grabs the phone from its charger on the counter and dials Will Schuester’s number. Will answers, saying that the boy had woken up, and there was some damage but that he was expected to make a full recovery. Burt can’t help but realize that the update is only about his physical condition, saying nothing about his mental state. All the same, it is good news.

     He heads back out into the living room, where Kurt is snuggled into Blaine’s lap. They’re speaking in soft voices and Burt lets himself listen in on their conversation. He only hears a few words before Blaine notices him there.

     “Would you mind sitting down with us, please?” Blaine asks, angling his head towards Burt’s chair.

     Burt sits down, and holds up a hand to keep Blaine from speaking.

     “Just a sec. I just was talking to Mr. Schuester. Dave’s awake, and he’s going to be fine.”

     Fresh tears appear in Kurt and Blaine’s eyes.

     “Now, I’m not going to try to pretend that I understand what’s going on, or that I know what you two are going through, but I can promise you that you can tell me anything right now.”

     Blaine rubs Kurt’s arm gently, and Kurt cranes his head to see his boyfriend’s face. The telepathic communication has returned. Eventually, Kurt turns around to face Burt.

     “I have something to tell you, Dad.” He mumbles, his voice quiet.

     “Okay, Kurt.” Burt replies. He notices the way that Blaine’s body language has changed. Instead of just comforting Kurt, he’s now practically cocooning him. It’s very protective, but Burt’s not sure what Blaine is trying to protect Kurt from.

     “Right before I met Blaine, when the bullying was really bad and you were still sick, it crossed my mind.” Kurt whispers. “It was only for a second, and I never let myself think about it again. I was just walking across the bridge, and I suddenly realized that it would just be so easy to fall off. I never would have actually done it, and I felt so ashamed and so guilty for thinking about it.”

     All three men are crying now, and Burt doesn’t think he’s been this upset since Kurt’s mom died. Blaine’s still doing his best to protect Kurt, and now Burt understands why. He’s trying to protect Kurt from the world and from himself, to let nothing hurt him. He’s clinging to Kurt, trying to keep him safe, happy and alive. Burt understands because he wants so desperately to do the same.

     “I just want you to know,” Kurt manages to choke out through the sobs, “That I would never, ever do that to you. You were why I didn’t do it. You and the hope that someday I’d meet someone that could understand me. I never considered it again, and I never will. I promise you. I promise.”

     Burt gets up, unable to stay so far away from his son. He sits down with the boys on the couch, and wraps his arms around whatever of Kurt he can reach until they are all just a tangle of limbs.

     “I love you so much, Kurt. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

     Burt can’t stop saying it, and he realizes he doesn’t want to. He lets himself repeat it over and over and over again. He hears Kurt say it back, and he can just barely hear Blaine saying it, too.

     The rest of the evening passes slowly. Carole comes home to find the three all still jumbled together. Finn and Sam come home sometime around dinner, bringing Puck with them. They’d all played football with Karofsky, and even though they’d been sworn enemies through Kurt’s hard times, the suicide attempt had really affected all three of them.

     Burt orders some pizza, figuring that if people aren’t hungry, they can reheat it later whenever they have their appetite back. Burt reminds Kurt and Blaine about their appointments with Ms. Pillsbury the next morning, and they make it very clear that they don’t see the value in speaking with her. However, they are too tired to argue, it seems, so they agree to go.

     When the boys get home the next day, they aren’t all that much better. Apparently, they’d had a group discussion about suicide and things that they are looking forward to being alive for. Blaine tells Burt that he’d considered telling his story about self-harm, finding himself sub-consciously tracing his scars, but he didn’t want for people to treat him differently. Burt absently wonders if there were others in the group that were similarly silent.

     The boys tell Burt that they’d met with Sebastian, who had apologized for the slushie incident. Blaine had not accepted the apology, but had felt some kind of forgiveness when Sebastian said, in tears, that he needed to stop treating people so badly. It seemed that Dave’s near-death experience had affected him too, as he’d met Dave in the gay bar.

     Burt attends the regionals performance, and while he’d never tell the boys, he didn’t think the New Directions were up to their normal standards. The Warblers were good, but that Sebastian kid still seems so cocky that Burt can’t muster up much appreciation, even when they dedicate their performance to David Karofsky.

     The New Directions win and Burt is relieved. They needed a win right about now, but more than that, Blaine and Kurt needed to not lose to Sebastian. Blaine and Kurt head to the hospital to visit Dave, although Blaine decides to wait outside of the boy’s room. Kurt tells Burt that he thinks Dave will be okay, but that his mom hasn’t been very accepting and that he’s going to try to be friends with him. Burt realizes that that might be exactly what David needs right now, and considers calling up his dad to offer his help with things, too.

     Somehow, the tragedy had made Finn and Rachel decide that they needed to be married even sooner. The New Directions all packed into various cars to travel over to the court house. Burt and Rachel’s dads were still trying to figure out a way to prevent the legal ceremony from proceeding, and in the end, they got their wish, but in the worst possible way.

     Seconds before they were about to begin, Mr. Schuester got a phone call: Quinn Fabray had just been in a car accident. Burt genuinely considers grabbing his boys, plugging their ears, and cutting off their internet and phone access to prevent them from getting even more bad news. But he can’t do that, and he knows it.

      So they’re off to the hospital, the waiting room filled with the Glee club all in their fancy clothes, Rachel still in her wedding dress. Emma’s doing her rounds, trying to console all of the crying, panicked teenagers at once. She’s a lovely girl, but Burt just isn’t sure how much she’s helping. He realizes, sadly, that there’s really nothing she could do, short of magic, which would actually make the situation any less horrible.

     Kurt and Blaine are huddled together in one chair, so entwined that Burt can’t even tell which one of the boys is sitting on the other’s lap. Burt and Carole sit next to them, and turn to look at each other when they hear Blaine whisper one short sentence to Kurt.

     “I couldn’t do this without you.”

     It’s so close in meaning to their own phrase that Burt and Carole can’t keep the tears from filling their eyes. They clasp their hands together, hoping both for themselves and for Kurt and Blaine that having each other will be enough to get through this.