Kurt was still staring at the picture of B with his heart in his throat when Sebastian wrenched it from his hands. He quickly slammed it into a drawer of his desk and locked it there.

"What… What was that?" Kurt asked, too stunned to care that Sebastian looked furious.

"None of your business!"

"Why do you have a picture of B on your desk?" Kurts hands were shaking again. If Sebastian had owned B first, then what would have had to happen for him to hate B so much now?

"You think I keep a picture of an android on my desk?" Sebastian spat. "That was no droid!"

Kurt swallowed uneasily and nodded, remembering how young B had looked in that picture. Androids didnt grow up or age, of course that wasnt B. "You made a droid that looks like someone you know," Kurt said out loud, even as he worked things out for himself. "Who is he?"

Sebastian studied Kurt for a moment, folding his hand on his desk and trying to read something in Kurts expression. "You really dont know who your droid looks like?"

"No," Kurt said breathlessly. "Who is it?"

Sebastian stood up abruptly. "Do you want to hear the whole long miserable story or do you want me to take you to the B line droid?"

"Both," Kurt said, also standing, but Sebastian gave him a threatening look.

"B," Kurt quickly revised. "Please, I just want to see B." So many questions were swirling around Kurts head, but the most important thing was finding B and getting him safely out of here.

Sebastian ran his hands through his hair again, and Kurt paused to really looked at him. He seemed like he was about to come loose at the seams, and Kurt wondered what else was going on with him. Kurt didnt say anything though, not wanting Sebastian to change his mind about taking Kurt to B.

He was ready to follow Sebastian out of his office, but instead, Sebastian walked to the wood-paneled wall to Kurts right and pushed a keypad. The wall slid open to reveal an elevator. Sebastian stepped in, and after a beat of surprise, Kurt hurried to follow him.

Once inside the elevator, Sebastian slid open a little panel in the wall and pushed a flat screen that had floor numbers on it. He pressed his whole palm against it, letting the device read that it was really him, and then hit the button marked B. "The best stuff is in the basement," Sebastian said. "I hope you understand that anything you see here you cant speak of… Well have you sign a waiver."

"Fine. Whatever you want," Kurt agreed, and Sebastian nodded at him as the elevator started descending. Going down 59 floors and into the buildings basement made Kurts ears pop and his heart was drumming the whole time. Sebastian was taking him to B; he was going to be able to see for himself that B was alright.

Im coming, he thought as he worried his bottom lip. He just had to think of a way to convince Sebastian to let them leave together.

The doors slid open again to reveal a bright white room. It was filled with work stations and people in white lab coats bent over screens and machinery and things of which Kurt had no idea what their function was. As Sebastian passed, he was greeted with "Hello, Mr. Smythe” and "Good afternoon, Mr. Smythe", but Sebastian ignored them all, walking to the back of the large room and pressing his palm against another scanner. They went through two more pairs of doors and another before they came to a smaller room. It looked like a private lab, for one or two people to work in.

Kurt recognized the only other person in the room immediately. Dr. Lemaire glanced at Kurt with a surprised upraise of his brows, but then looked at Sebastian.

"I am having trouble fulfilling your request with this android," he said, but Sebastian just held up his hand for silence and looked past him. On the far wall of the room was a big glass window. Kurts breath caught as he saw a small silver room beyond the window, some machinery around the edges and a stand with tools on it, a small electric saw, wire cutters and other instruments that made Kurts stomach hurt. The most important thing in the little room, though, was B, laid out on a long silver table in the middle of the room, like a patient readied for an operation.

Kurt rushed forward past Sebastian and the doctor. He went to the door that led to the room B was in and tugged on the handle. It didnt budge. "Let me in," Kurt said, turning to the other two men in the room. "I need to see that hes alright."

"Dr. Lemaire can update us on that."

Kurt clenched his jaw and turned to walk over to the window, reaching up and pressing his hand against it. B looked asleep, but Kurt knew he was probably shut down. He lay flat on his back wearing the grey scrub-like clothes of an unassigned droid. His eye- patch was gone and Kurts heart clenched, thinking of his carefully picked out clothes and bowtie just carelessly discarded somewhere. It was such an intrusion. They had kidnapped and stripped and redressed him like some kind of toy. They had no respect or care for B at all.

Kurt turned back around to face Sebastian and Dr. Lemaire. "You have no right to keep him here. He isnt yours."

Sebastian just sighed and ignored him. "Tell me what went wrong?" he said, directing his attention to the doctor.

"I know you wanted him decommissioned," the doctor started in his thick accent. "The first part of that is wiping him clean. Clearing out his memory hard drives."

"You cant do that!" Kurt shouted, but it was as if he wasnt even there for how much attention they gave him.

"And so I did just that. I wiped him clean."

"No." Kurt leaned against the wall, how could they talk about this so indifferently? Taking away Bs memories was like… erasing him.

"Okay... And?" Sebastian said, his arms crossed over his chest.

"However…" Dr. Lemaire looked back and forth between Sebastian and Kurt nervously. "It didnt work."

Kurt looked behind his shoulder at the seemingly peaceful B behind him and then hopefully back at the doctor. "He still has his memories?"

"He shouldnt," Sebastian said. "Are you sure you did it right?"

The doctor gave Sebastian a frustrated look. He was obviously not as intimidated by him as other people were. "Monsieur Smythe, what good would I be to your company if I didnt even know how to wipe a droids memory clean?"

Sebastian sighed. "Fine, Doctor, then tell us what happened," he said, gesturing to Kurt.

Kurt pushed himself off from the wall. Finally Sebastian indicated that he even remembered Kurt was there.

"I did a complete wipe. Everything. Memories, thoughts, learned behavior," Dr. Lemaire explained, and Kurt started to feel sick. "Then… I turned him back on. I just wanted to do a few short tests before decommissioning him. He is the last of the B line, and…" He looked past Kurt and into the room where B lay still and lifeless.

"He remembered," the doctor said with a shrug. "He was… bouleversé… shaken, and immediately started to demand we take him back to Kurt Hummel and arguing that we had no basis on which to keep him here. I was too stunned to even respond. I just shut him down again. You called down shortly after that. I dont understand it. It is impossible."

There was silence in the lab for a moment after that until Kurt covered his hand with his mouth and let out a happy little laugh. Both Sebastian and Dr. Lemaire looked at him.

Kurt let his hand drop as a smile covered his face. He felt so relieved he could barely hold himself up. "I told you he wasnt just a droid."

Sebastian didnt say anything, but his face fell back into the aloof, haughty look Kurt was beginning to think was just his mask to cover how he really felt.

"I need to go in and see him," Kurt said, no longer begging, but telling them what was going to happen next. Neither of these men understood what they were dealing with here. And maybe Kurt didnt understand what B was either, but at least he cared about him. "Now."

Dr. Lemaire looked at Sebastian, who just nodded. The doctor walked over to the door and used a keypad to unlock it. Kurt rushed past him and to B lying on the table.

"B," he called as he gently cupped his neck and worked on the pressure points that had to be pressed to switch him back on. It took a moment, but soon B was blinking his one good eye open and staring up at Kurt. A slow smile covered his face.

"Kurt."

"Hey, B," Kurt said with tears in his eyes as he held Bs face and ran his thumb over his cheek.

B sat up, and Kurt balanced himself on the edge of the table. He wrapped his arms around Bs shoulders and bumped their foreheads together. He really didnt care that Sebastian and Dr. Lemaire were watching. B was here in his arms, safe and himself, and that was what mattered.

"You came after me," B said softly.

"Of course I did. You would for me."

Blaine reached up to hold Kurts arms. "Of course I would." B smiled, and Kurt pressed a short sweet kiss to his lips before backing up enough to look B over. "You arent hurt, are you?"

"No." B shook his head. "I… I have a headache."

"I can work on that for you," Kurt said, softly running his fingers through Bs curls.

"Come on." Sebastians harsh voice broke Kurt out of the safe little bubble he was in with B. They both looked over at Sebastian. "This is ridiculous. Were here to prove to you hes… its just an android. It is no more than a machine!" Sebastian was obviously disturbed, his cheeks red and his eyes narrowed.

"Please," Kurt said. "Your own scientist cant explain why he didnt react to a memory wipe like a normal droid. He isnt just a machine, is he, doctor?" Kurt said, ignoring Sebastian.

"They… They wiped my memory?" B asked anxiously, and Kurt turned back to him. "It didnt take," Kurt said, brushing some curls from his face. "Youre okay."

Dr. Lemaire cleared his throat. "He is a machine," he spoke up. "I could open him up and show you. I could take the false skin off his face and youd see a mechanical skull."

Kurt wrapped his arms around B again, determined not to let anyone near him. "I know that. I grew up around androids. I know how they work. Im just… Im trying to tell you that even though he is a machine, B is…" Kurt glanced at B, locking eyes with him and smiling. "B is special."

B blushed and smiled a little, and Kurts heart skipped a beat as it so often did when around B. His hands trembled as he held onto B. He almost lost B before he even told him how much he... he loved him.

"You think he feels something for you?" Sebastian spat out, interrupting Kurts thoughts. "It's all fake. Droids are nothing more than a great fraud. If you grew up around them, you should know that." Sebastians voice was shaking, and when Kurt glanced at him, he was surprised to see that he didnt look angry, more broken and on the verge of tears. "I want that android destroyed!" he barked at Dr. Lemaire.

Kurt stood from the table, turning his back towards B and blocking him from Sebastian and Dr. Lemaire. "I wont allow that," Kurt said steadily.

"Well, you dont have a say in it!" Sebastian yelled, moving towards him and grabbing Kurts arm, roughly pulling him away from B.

Everything after that happened fast. Kurt was struggling against Sebastian, Dr. Lemaire was standing watching in shock, and B got up from the table and rounded on Sebastian, kicking the back of his knee so he folded over and then pulling Kurts arm out of Sebastians grasp before putting Kurt behind him and facing Sebastian with a steady gaze.

"You dont get to hurt him. You dont get to touch him," B said. There was no anger in his voice, just a calm explanation of facts. He wasnt going to let anyone near Kurt.

Kurt stood frozen behind B, holding on to his arms to keep him close. Did B realize what he had just done? Droids didnt do that. They didnt physically fight humans. They just didnt. They couldnt. And even though B had done no real harm to Sebastian - in fact, Kurts wrist was probably more injured than the back of Sebastians leg - what B had just done was unheard of. Droids couldnt use physical force against a human; even droids who were programmed as body guards only did crowd control and acted like a shield for their owners.

Kurt swallowed nervously and waited to see Dr. Lemaire and Sebastians reactions. Would this make them afraid of B? Would it put him in more danger? "B," Kurt said calmly. "I dont think anyone wants to hurt me."

"Good," B answered, and then looked around at everyones faces. His posture relaxed. "Im not going to hurt anyone either."

"I know. You wouldnt," Kurt said with a smile.

"We have to destroy him," Sebastian said again, but much of the fight had left his voice. Kurt was getting really tired of hearing him say that too.

"Monsieur," Dr. Lemaire spoke up placidly, trying to break the tension, "I dont know that I can recommend that. Something is going on with the android. It is not just a coincidence that he is so… human. A tout pourquoi il y a un parce que. In the name of science, dont you think-"

"I cant!" Sebastian interrupted, turning to the doctor. "I cant have a machine walking around in the world with his face and his voice and his goddamn bowties. I cant do it. I cant." Sebastians voice wavered and tears filled his eyes.

"I know this is hard for you," Dr. Lemaire said, reaching a hand out to lie on Sebastians shoulder. "But I cant in good conscience destroy this droid without knowing what is happening with it. He is..." The doctor looked at B. "He is something new."

Kurt stepped from behind B to stand beside him and grabbed his hand. Kurt had come so close to losing him and now he just needed constant contact to assure himself that B was really alright. Kurt didnt understand what was going on, but he thought he knew where to start. "Tell us about the boy in that picture," he said. "I think its time we knew the truth."

"We should," Dr. Lemaire said. "We must find out what this is." He gestured to B, who just glanced back and forth between the doctor and Sebastian, clearly confused.

Everyone waited for Sebastians response. B squeezed Kurts hand, and Kurt wasnt sure if it was out of nerves or if B was trying to comfort him.

"Fine," Sebastian finally said, his shoulders slumping. He turned and walked out of the room, and after a moment, Dr. Lemaire followed him. Kurt looked at B, who smiled and shrugged his shoulders, trying to look calm, but his jaw was tight and his eye worried.

They followed them out together. Sebastian didnt go far, grabbing a tablet from a nearby work space and sitting down at a table that was lined with stools. Kurt sat down and B sat next to him, but Kurt didnt let go of Bs hand. The only way anyone was getting between him and B now was if they physically dragged Kurt away from him.

Sebastian tapped on the screen for a moment before facing it towards Kurt and B. "Do you know who this is?" he asked, and Kurt looked at the picture of an older man with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Of course. Thats Robert Anderson."

"Of Anderson Corporation, yes," Sebastian sighed.

"Thats where I got my eye," B said, looking up at Sebastian and then Kurt, trying to put things together. Kurt could only smile encouragingly at him, though, because he didnt know where this was heading either.

"You got more than that from the Andersons." Sebastian swiped the screen and another picture came up. It showed Robert Anderson with his family. Kurt didnt know that much about the Anderson family or anything about them, really.

A wife and two sons, it seemed, except…

"Oh my god," Kurt breathed, and Bs grip on his hand tightened again.

"Thats… Thats me."

"No," Sebastian said firmly. "This is Blaine Anderson," he said, pointing to the young man in the picture. Older now than he was in the frame upstairs, but still very obviously B. Curly gelled hair and smile that tugged at Kurts heart with its familiarity.

"Blaine was real, not some machine," Sebastian explained, and Kurt decided to let the fact that Sebastian spat the word machine out like a curse pass for now.

"I look just like him," B breathed, and Kurt watched his expression worriedly. Bs brows were furrowed, and his lips turned down in concern. "Why do I look like him?"

B rubbed at his temples and Kurt remembered that he had a headache. He wished they could take a minute for Kurt to fix that.

Sebastian cleared his throat and looked down at the picture with a defeated expression. "The B line was a series of droids made to look like my best friend Blaine because Blaine… He…" Sebastian rubbed at his eyes, and Kurt suddenly felt sorry for him. This was hard on him, and Kurt was beginning to put together why. "Blaine was injured, badly. He was in a coma and we - his family and mine - we were desperate to save him. We worked with the Andersons to make a B line droid that could be connected remotely to Blaines consciousness, a way for him to live, even though his own body and mind were damaged."

Kurt felt a lump form in his throat, and turned to see tears in Bs eyes.

"It didnt work," Sebastian concluded quickly, looking back up from the picture and trying to regain his composure. "There was nothing we could do to save him. The B line was a waste, and since neither myself nor the Andersons wanted droids walking around looking like Blaine, we had the whole line destroyed. Except one. B821 was stolen and his tracking device interfered with. We couldnt find him. Until now."

No-one said anything. Kurts mind was muddled. He felt for Sebastian in a way he hadnt expected. How horrible to lose your friend and have to sit here face to face with someone that looked like him, but wasnt him. Still, as much as Kurt could sympathize with Sebastian, he still wouldnt allow Sebastians grief to be used to harm B.

B reached for the tablet and sat staring at the picture of the Anderson family. "Do they know about me?"

"No." Sebastian shook his head. "They think the B line is gone."

B nodded, and Kurt just wanted to wrap him up in his arms; he looked so sad. B rubbed his temple again, and Kurt scooted closer to him.

"I am so terribly sorry about your friend," Kurt said. "But B… You cant punish him for looking like Blaine."

"Blaine," B whispered next to him, and his voice cracked.

Sebastian opened his mouth to reply, but B stood up from the table. He wobbled a little on his feet. "I dont… feel well," He said, his voice husky and troubled.

"B?" Kurt grabbed Bs arm anxiously, but B just glanced at him and then collapsed. He felt to the ground with a thud and Kurt was on his knees next to him in a moment. "B!"

He wasnt just in sleep mode, because his chest wasnt rising and falling. Kurt pressed on his neck, trying to turn him back on, but it didnt work. Panic swelled in Kurt's chest. "B!" he shouted again. "Please, B, please wake up."

Dr. Lemaire knelt next to them, also attempting to turn B on, but it didnt work. For a long, terrible moment, Kurt felt his heart starting to tear, but then B blinked his eye open again and looked up in evident fear. "What… happened?"

Kurt was nearly lying over B at this point as he wrapped him in his arms. "Oh god B, I dont know. Are- Are you okay?"

B sat up and rubbed his head, but Kurt kept his arms around him, his face pressed against his shoulder.

"I can do something about the headache," Dr. Lemaire said from his position, crouched beside them. Sebastian was on the other side of the room, arms folded across his stomach and looking down at his feet.

Dr. Lemaire and Kurt helped B to his feet and led him to sit back down on a stool as Dr. Lemaire got the correct tools to help with Bs headache. "I dont know what just happened to your droid," Dr. Lemaire said, looking at Kurt, "but I would love the chance to find out, study him some. I promise I want to help, not hurt."

Kurt licked his lips and looked at B, but didnt answer. They needed to talk about all that was going on, and then B could decide what he was comfortable with. Right now, he just wanted B home. He had it stuck in his head that if he could just get B away from this place, hed be alright. That is, if Sebastian even gave them that chance.

Kurt looked over at Sebastian as he kept his distance from them. "You have to see that he is more than a normal droid," Kurt said to him.

Sebastian looked up briefly. "I see nothing of the sort. The only thing that is clear to me is… is that you obviously care deeply about him." Sebastian sighed. "Im not cruel, you know. You can keep you damn droid, and Dr. Lemaire can do tests on him or whatever, in his own time. But I never want to see it again."

With that, Sebastian stormed past them, shouting back as he left the room. "And make sure they sign the damn confidentiality waivers!"

Kurt was left with just B, who was trembling slightly, and Dr. Lemaire, who Kurt was still unsure of. "I just want to take B home."

"Yes," B spoke up. "Please."

"Do you feel better?" Dr. Lemaire asked, closing Bs neck.

"I do. The headache is gone," B answered, rubbing his forehead. "Thank you."

"Ill get the waivers for you to sign, and here." The doctor reached into his pocket and withdrew a business card, handing it to Kurt. "If he has any more trouble, or you just find you want… answers. Sil vous plaît, call me."

Dr. Lemaire left the room, and Kurt turned to wrap B in a protective hug. B wrapped his arms around Kurt as well. "I was so terrified Id never find you… That youd be lost or destroyed… And…" Kurt sniffed, tears fresh in his eyes. "And now I dont know what is happening to you."

"I was scared too," B whispered. "But you found me, and now we get to go home, and do you know why?"

Kurt pulled back a little to look at Bs face. "Why?"

B smiled. His eye was damp with tears, but his expression was somehow a little mischievous. "Because you like me. A lot. Sebastian could see that and is letting me go because you care about me." He grinned. "You must really like me."

Kurt rolled his eyes, but laughed a little. He felt so full of relief that if he let himself, he might start laughing like a mad man. "I more than like you, silly. And Im never letting anyone take you from me again," Kurt said, capturing Bs lips in a kiss. There were still too many things to think and worry about, but for now at least, they were together.