Things moved quickly after that day. Blaine finished out the week at McKinley at the request of Elaine and Michael. He spent time with New Directions, saying goodbye. They even spent an afternoon dedicating songs to him (he was pretty sure Kurt had something to with that).

His last morning with the Danvers started early. His room had been packed up the night before (with help from Kurt), and all he had to do was shower and dress and help load up the car. He stepped out into the hallway and went down to Julie's room, knocking lightly on the doorway. He wanted to talk to her to before doing anything else.

Her door opened slowly and he took in her swollen face and red eyes. "Oh, Julie," he murmured, hugging her. Blaine led her over to the bed and sat them both down. "You know it's nothing to do with you, right?"

She nodded stiffly.

"I mean it," he said, hugging her tightly.

"I don't hate you, you know," she murmured into his shoulder.

"I'm glad," he replied. He'd been worried she'd hate him, but Blaine apparently it had been for nothing.

"I used to dream about you – well, fantasize, I guess," Julie continued after a moment. "I had all these grand dreams about how you'd show up or be found, and be fine and Mom would stop crying when she didn't think I could see her. You'd come home and we'd be a family again."

Blaine blinked at her in surprise.

"And then my dream came true – you got found," she said. "The only thing is, you already had a family and you didn't need us."

He couldn't deny that, as much as it hurt to hear. "Julie, I'm still your brother. You and me, that doesn't change. We're gonna fight and talk and hang out, no matter where I'm living or who I'm living with." He tugged on the ends of her hair lightly. "In fact, when I move to New York next year for school, we should see if Elaine and Michael will let you come stay the weekend."

She made a choking sound and hugged him tighter. Blaine knew they'd be just fine.

It was Elaine he was mostly worried about. She was the one who had clung for years to the idea that he was alive and would be found one day. She was the one who'd insisted on his picture being on the milk cartons even after all the years had passed. He knew she had to be devastated.

He came out of Julie's room to find Elaine in the living room, staring at a photo album. She glanced up and saw him, patting the couch so he would join her. There were drying tear tracks on her cheeks and Blaine felt horrible. For a moment he almost wanted to tell her he'd changed his mind, that he'd stay, but then he thought of his mother's face, of Susan Anderson and he knew he had to go.

"Look," she said, pointing to the pictures.

"Is that me?" Blaine asked. Elaine nodded. Blaine was enthralled. He'd never seen baby pictures of himself before. Elaine took him through the book, explaining the different pictures. He stopped on the last page, staring at what was clearly a family picture taken shortly after Julie's birth.

"Here," Elaine said, peeling back the plastic covering the photo. "You keep it."

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked.

"You should have it," she insisted, handing it to him.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"You know," she began, running a hand through his unruly curls, "that day you disappeared, the moment I realized you were gone, I didn't know what to do." Elaine breathed in shakily. "I lost so many minutes just standing there, hoping you'd miraculously reappear."

"I wish I had," Blaine told her honestly.

"You'll call, won't you?" Elaine whispered.

"Of course I will," Blaine promised. Elaine hugged him and then pushed him upward.

"Lots to do today," she said. "Time to get a move on."

*

Blaine didn't get to speak with Michael until they were loading up the car.

"I'll never forget the sound of your mother's voice that night," he said quietly. "I'd never heard her sound that way before. When she told me what happened..."

Blaine stopped what he was doing and turned to face him.

"Even then I didn't know what to make of you," Michael continued. "You were constantly singing and dancing and putting on little shows for us. I didn't know how to relate to you. I still don't, I guess."

"I love the car, Michael," Blaine told him. "I think it's a great project." He paused and figured he had nothing left to lose, so he went for it. "I'm just not happy with what I think you were trying to do with it."
Michael gave him a questioning look.

"Getting my hands dirty won't make me straight, and it won't make me love Kurt any less," Blaine finished.

"Is that what you...?" Michel trailed off. "I can see why you would think that." He sighed. "I just wanted something we could do together. I know I wasn't as accepting about that as I could have been, but I don't really know how to handle it."

"There's meetings you can go to," Blaine offered. "Groups that can help you understand me."

"Maybe," Michael replied softly. "Is that everything?" Blaine nodded and Michael shut the trunk.
It was time to go.

Kurt pulled up in front of the house, parking the Navigator but leaving the engine running. He was going to follow them down and stay for a while, officially meeting Blaine's parents for the first time. Blaine couldn't wait.

He tried not to show his excitement as they pulled out of the driveway, Julie waving from the porch with tears in her eyes, but it was hard not to.

He still had a million questions about who he really was and how his family would be defined from now on, but he didn't care.

He was going home.

END