"Dave? Where are you?"

A sob was heard out in the yard.

Burt was trembling with anger but his voice remained eerily calm. "Dave, you come into my home…my home…and pull shit with my son?" His eyes were beginning to adjust to the dark. He made out Dave's figure, crouched in the yard and moved towards him.

More muffled sobs; the boy was mumbling and swearing. Dave sat on his haunches, rocking back and forth.

Burt felt sweat prickling under his arms and on his forehead in the muggy heat of the Ohio summer evening. He was uncertain what to expect from Dave, but it wasn't this.

"Burt?" It was Carole, speaking hesitantly from the deck. "Kurt and Blaine are not hurt – just shook up. I wanted you to know that. Is Dave still out there?"

Burt nodded from his position a few feet from Dave but Carole could only make out shadow figures in the dark.

"Burt?" she called again, somewhat louder.

"Yes, babe, thanks. Dave is here. I'll see what I can do out here."

"Okay." The sliding door slowly closed. Burt heard the crickets and saw the fireflies dancing.

He found himself taking a slow deep breath of humid air and processing what Carole had just told him. The boys are all right. He silently repeated that to himself a few times, as a means to calm his anger.

Burt did not want to deal with this hulking young man who sat on the ground in front of him. It would have been much easier to yank him up by the arm and march him around the house to the driveway and shove his ass in his car, telling him never, ever to so much as think about showing up again at this address. Easier, yes. Simple is good, right? Simple is tempting. But, honestly, how much is ever really simple? Or easy?

Burt looked down at Dave and sighed. Then he knelt on the ground in front of him and put a hand on the sobbing boy's shoulder. He felt the heat radiating through Dave's thin cotton shirt. Dave did not pull away.

"Son," Burt surprised himself with his word choice, "I know you are very upset right now. I want you to take a few more minutes to get yourself together, and then we are going into the house."

Dave tried to talk, but Burt couldn't make it out. "What? – I didn't understand you."

Dave gulped in some air and half-whispered, "I just want to go home. Please."

Burt shook his head. "That is not going to happen, son."

After Carole made certain the boys were not physically harmed she allowed them to go to Kurt's room. She told a very confused Finn to drive Santana home. Then she waited for her husband to come back into the house. Her initial fear that Burt might strike out towards Dave was gone after hearing his calm response to her. Upstairs there were loud voices coming out of Kurt's room. She had never heard Blaine raise his voice in frustration before.

She was uncertain what was next, but odds were it was going to be a challenge. Carole found herself mindlessly watering the plants, picking off the dead leaves, and picking up around the house. Every minute seemed like an hour.

"Carole?"

Blaine's voice startled her and she whirled around, putting her hand to her heart. "Oh!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. " Blaine's voice was a bit hoarse, whether from yelling or crying, Carole did not know. His eyes lacked their characteristic warmth when they met hers. "Is it okay if I get something to drink?"

"Of course, honey," Carole gushed. "You know where everything is. Just help yourself."

Blaine nodded his thanks. Carole followed him to the kitchen. She said, "Burt is still in the backyard as far as I can tell. Talking with Dave."

Blaine opened the refrigerator door and picked up a carton of milk. Carole turned to open a cupboard door and reached for a glass, handing it to him.

"Thanks." He poured the milk and returned the carton to the refrigerator. His face was a mask but his words belied his feelings. "I wish he would beat the shit out of him." Then he walked out of the kitchen and back up the stairs.

Burt had helped Dave back up onto the deck, where they sat at the table. Burt was talking quietly.

"We are going inside and I'll show you where the bathroom is. You can get yourself cleaned up a little bit. Then you, Kurt, Blaine and I are going to get to the bottom of this for once and for all. I would prefer to call your dad and have him come over, too—"

"No! Please, not now. I just can't do this with my dad here…" Dave shook his head.

"Okay, I will go along with you on that for tonight. But we are going to involve your dad in this, understood?"

Dave slumped. Then he nodded.

"Ready?"

"I guess." Dave slowly got up as Burt slid open the door and stepped into the welcome coolness of the kitchen. He pointed Dave toward the half bath.

Burt found Carole in the family room making repairs to one of his work shirts. She looked up to see his rather drawn face and got up to give him a hug. Her husband lifted his muscular arms to her capable shoulders and buried his face in her fragrant hair, taking a moment to gather strength from her embrace. "Oh, babe," he rasped, "what a night." He leaned back to look in her shining eyes wishing he could lose himself in them. "And it is not over yet."

"I'm here to help."

Burt kissed Carole on the mouth, not a lingering kiss, but full and heartfelt. "That's one of the things I love about you." He smiled his pleasure at her. "So Dave is in the bathroom getting his act together and then I'm going to have a little chat with all three young men. What is going on in here?"

"Well, I told Finn to run Santana home; he will be back anytime. Kurt and Blaine are in Kurt's room. I could hear some fireworks going on up there a while ago and Blaine has been down for a glass of milk. He is not a happy boy. I have not seen our son since he went upstairs."

As an afterthought she added, "You may have some trouble with Blaine if you put him in the same room with Dave. To put it bluntly, he was mad as hell." She grinned. "Kurt has a way of gaining the affections of some very protective men, doesn't he?" She placed a finger teasingly on her husband's chest.

Carole cocked her head. "Have you figured out what happened?"

Burt nodded. "For the most part. You know, I always told Kurt that bullies were just scared little boys…" Carole nodded. "Well, as it turns out this scared little boy is gay." Burt looked down, his face suddenly flushed. "And he has the hots for my son. Big time." He looked up at his wife, eyes wide, shoulders in a shrug. "Go figure!"

Carole closed her eyes, slowly shaking her head and sighing. The exchange between Dave and Kurt at the table earlier that evening came back to her in sharp relief. So that was what it was about. "Jesus," she wondered aloud, "why does it have to be so hard for these kids?"

Burt had wondered the same thing hundreds of times. And that brought to mind Dave's dad. "I wanted to call Paul Karofsky and get him over here but I let Dave talk me out of it. He is really rattled. He knows he has to face the music here, and he is going to have to face his father as well. I would feel more comfortable with Paul here but Dave is 17 and this is not the principal's office, so I'll give him a pass on this one."

"Are you going to talk to Paul yourself?" Carole asked.

"I think so. It would be different if it did not involve Kurt, but this clearly does, just not in the way I had assumed all along." Burt let out a long breath. "Let's take care of what happened tonight first."

"Okay, honey."

"Hey, keep a look out for Dave, would you, and take him into the family room? I'm going upstairs for a minute, and then I'll bring the boys down."

Carole agreed and Burt headed for the stairs.

Kurt's room was dimly lit, and the boys lay quietly on the bed. Blaine was loosely wrapped in Kurt's arms, with his head on Kurt's shoulder. They had shed their sandals, but were otherwise completely dressed.

It was almost too much for Kurt, things so quickly unravel tonight. He had a clear vision of how he wanted things to work with the PFLAG group and now that was totally screwed. He cursed himself for thinking he could control everything and make it all turn out the way he wanted. He should have listened to Blaine. He should have listened to his father. Now they were both understandably upset (at least he knew Blaine was) and Dave was about to be outed. Well, at least Dave had kind of done that to himself hadn't he?

Kurt and Blaine had just had the worst fight of their relationship. Kurt had never seen Blaine so angry and not all of that resentment was directed at Dave. Blaine had told Kurt bluntly that he was fed up with him and that Blaine was not going to keep his mouth shut about Dave any longer. "I have listened to you and respected what you want to do," Blaine had yelled, "and now I have to make some decisions based on what I believe to be right." That statement sent chills through Kurt.

His Blaine, his funny, affectionate, dorky Blaine was a force to be reckoned with.

They had continued to argue, then discuss, and finally to come to an agreement. Kurt consented. They could tell his father and Carole everything even thought it was breaking his word with Dave. Dave had lost his right to confidentiality by making unwelcome advances to Kurt.

And once they understood each other more fully they were drawn to sit closely once again, finally finding means to comfort and reassure each other with soft voices and tentative touches.

Like most young lovers they were beginning to understand that their growing intimacy would lead them on a path through discoveries about each other that both delighted and disturbed them. Nobody stormed out, nobody made threats, nobody called names and they found their way to the clearing. Together.

However, years of experience with his father taught Kurt that the evening was far from over. So they waited.

When Burt knocked on the door and poked his head in, he found a calm scene.

"May I?"

"Of course, dad." Blaine sat up, as did Kurt. Burt found a spot at the end of the bed and sat as well. It could have been awkward, but everyone was too battle weary to care.

"How are you boys doing?"

"We are okay, dad." Kurt glanced at Blaine and went on. "We know we have some things to talk to you about. I'm sorry about what happened tonight dad. It was partly my fault—"

"Kurt, I'm not thinking this was your fault. But I do want for us – including Dave—to sit down together tonight and talk this out. Dave is downstairs." Burt took a breath and let it out. "He told me, Kurt. He told me he has feelings for you."

"Blaine kinda figured that out a while back, dad." Kurt said in a miserable little voice. "But I thought I could make things work…"

Burt glanced across the room to the wall and adjusted his ball cap. "Kurt, some of this is just beyond me, you know? But I'm your father, and if there is some way to make sense of all this I'm gonna give it a helluva try."

He stood up. "We'll be in the family room, okay?"

Both boys nodded.

"Blaine?"

"Yes, Burt?"

"I'm glad you were there tonight for my son."

"Thanks, but it wasn't that simple." To Blaine's way of thinking he had not gotten things right at all. "I was ready to kick his ass—"

"I know, kid. You've got Kurt's back. Maybe Kurt will listen to you a little more in the future. But Dave is facing his own demons now. Let's try to handle this mess without making it worse, alright?"

Blaine nodded. Burt would be there with them. Blaine could take his cues from Burt.

"I'll see you guys downstairs."

Carole heard the bathroom door open and saw the light in the hallway. She moved off of her seat on the couch to greet Dave.

"Dave, Burt went upstairs to get Blaine and Kurt. Let's have a seat."

Dave nodded and entered the family room. Carole pointed to a chair and Dave rather gingerly sat down. She looked at him directly for the first time. Dave's shirt had a few wet spots on it, probably from washing his face. His eyes were red and puffy and he did not make eye contact.

"Is Santana waiting for me to take her home?" He had thought about Santana when he was in the bathroom.

"No, Finn is running her home. Why don't I get you a glass of water?" Carole inquired and left Dave sitting in the family room.

Two minutes later the front door opened and Finn came in. His mom intercepted him and quietly said, "You and I are going upstairs so your step dad can have a talk with the boys." Finn nodded. "Did you get Santana home?"

Finn nodded again and asked, "Okay if I grab a snack to take with me upstairs?"

Carole agreed and took the glass she was carrying in to Dave.

It was sometime after ten when Burt took a seat in his favorite recliner in the family room. Dave was already sitting in a chair next to him. That left the couch for Kurt and Blaine. Burt was trying to gather his wits about him. Maybe he should have had Carole be part of this.

He looked at Kurt, then Blaine, then Dave. Well, this was Burt's idea. Evidently he was going to have to get the discussion started.

"Okay, so this is what I think is going on. Tell me where I'm off base. Once we get to an understanding we'll figure out what is next. And evidently I am the last one to this party." He paused and then hit it head on. " Dave, you have feelings for my son. And Kurt, Blaine told you he had this figured out a while ago?"

Kurt sighed. "This is going to take a little bit to explain dad. Shortly after I met Blaine at Dalton, I told him that I was being bullied. He encouraged me to stand up for myself. He said that..." Kurt put his hand on Blaine's thigh because they really hadn't talked about sharing this, but Kurt thought it was okay, "that he had been bullied at his old school and he just left, But leaving was something he regretted."

Burt looked at Blaine, and Blaine just nodded his head, as if to say, that's right.

"So when I went back to school the next time Karo—Dave pushed me into the lockers I chased after him. I followed him into the locker room and we had a loud argument." Kurt looked over at Dave.

Dave looked back at him. Kurt waited.

Finally, Dave looked at the floor, and said, "And I lost my cool and I kissed Kurt."

Burt's sat forward in his recliner. "What? Wait a minute—you kissed my son?"

Dave did not look up but he said, "Uh-huh."

Burt reared back in surprise, "Okay! Anything else I should know?"

Kurt continued, "And then he tried to kiss me again but I pulled back and Dave ran out. I know it sounds shocking dad, and I was mortified at the time, but I'm over it now, you know?"

"Anyway, I thought that meant that Dave was gay and things just got worse from there. Dave was still being mean, but now he was threatening me because he was afraid that I would out him. But the only person I ever told was Blaine."

"I can't say I'm real happy about that, Kurt,"

"I know, dad. I am sorry."

"So, riddle me this, son. When we were all in Principal Figgins office why did you want to speak privately to Dave? Or maybe I should ask Dave?" Burt startled Dave. He looked at Dave for the answer.

"Uh...Kurt wanted to know what was motivating me to change. Start the Bullywhips with Santana. All that."

"And what was behind it?"

"Santana, sir. She told me that she knew I was gay and she would out me to the whole school if I did not help her. But I had already decided for myself that I did not want to hurt Kurt anymore—"

Burt held up his hand to interrupt. "Yeah, whatever."

Kurt picked up where Dave left off. "Santana wanted me to come back to McKinley because it meant New Directions would have a better chance of winning at Nationals."

This was making Burt's head hurt. He really should have had Carole in the room; she had more tolerance for this kind of high school drama.

"Anyway," Dave added, "Kurt told me that I needed to work with him getting a PFLAG group started and I agreed to help if he would come back."

"So the whole time the three of you have had this secret…only now Santana has it figured out, too?"

"Yes, dad. But the part that I did not know was that Dave—" Kurt looked at Dave again, "Dave has a crush on me."

"And this you figured out when?"

"Blaine tried to tell me a couple of weeks ago. I was planning for PFLAG- that all seems like a bad dream now—and when Blaine found out I was serious about including Dave he explained to me why he thought that was risky. He said that he was certain Dave had feelings for me. Blaine did not want me to meet alone with Dave because he did not-does not –trust him. Now I guess I understand why."

"Okay. Now, tonight," said Burt, "my understanding is that at the end of the meeting Dave and Kurt were left outside. Dave come up to Kurt and , eh…made advances, then about that time Blaine came on the scene?"

Evidently Dave had told Burt and he had told him the truth. Blaine was sitting up straight and still.

"Yes, dad, Dave grabbed me and I couldn't get him to let me go, so I let him have it—"

"Yep, got that part," replied Burt. He remembered Dave when he first found him in the yard. That boy had to have some sore privates. Burt suddenly had to fight a grin. My god, leave it to Kurt to kick some kid in the nuts.

Burt brought himself back to the matters at hand. "Blaine? Anything you need to say?"

Blaine had been very quiet throughout their discussion. "I'm just relieved that all of this is out in the open. But I do want to say something to Dave." He oriented himself on the couch so he was facing Dave and Dave self-consciously sat up as well. "Dave, do you remember the first time we saw each other and I told you that being gay is a very hard thing to come to terms with? Well obviously you have found that to be true. But do you understand that you are making this one hell of a lot harder than it has to be?" Blaine's voice was clear and powerful. "Now I don't care if you have figured out if you are 'all gay' or just 'gay for my boyfriend' because in the end it is all the same to me. You need to stay away from Kurt and you get your act together now. Man up, Dave."

To Dave's credit his eyes had never left Blaine's.

Kurt spoke up, "I have something to say, too." His voice sounded younger somehow. "Dave, I used to be so afraid of you, but now I just feel sorry for you. I was hoping that we could work together, but I know now that I was being na�ve. Blaine was right about a lot of things. He knew from the beginning that you had feelings for me, and he did not want me to put myself at risk. I am not afraid of you Dave, I'm really not. Even after what you did tonight. But we can't work together. And I don't want to be around you."

Dave had listened in silence as both Kurt and Blaine spoke. When Kurt finished he nodded.

For a moment Burt felt like he was on an afternoon reality talk show. "Well, Dave, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Dave did not know how long one person could feel ashamed and embarrassed. His balls hurt and his stomach was still queasy. As he had stood in the small bathroom earlier, looking at himself in the mirror, almost in shock, he had come face to face with the harsh realities that were his life. He opened the medicine cabinet only to realize that he was wondering if there was a razor or anything he could use just to end these horrible feelings and escape this impossible situation. Tampons, Q-tips, Band-Aids, hydrogen peroxide, sunscreen, Pepto-Bismol. He quietly closed the cabinet door. He thought about running out the door and leaving. Just getting the hell out. No one could stop him, really. Then he envisioned Burt rolling into his driveway and knocking at his front door – shit, Burt and his father had gone to high school together. Finally he had leaned over the sink to rinse off his face with cool water, dried his face and hands on the hand towel, and opened the door.

Dave sat in the family room reflecting on some of what had been said. He did not know what he expected to have happen. But every time he let himself think about coming out it was like a bad Armageddon movie playing in his head. Tonight he had exposed his feelings for Kurt in the most humiliating way one could imagine. But he had lived to tell about it. Sure he had botched everything royally, but the world absolutely had not come crashing down. Not really.

The boy had listened as Blaine said his piece. He had listened to Kurt tell him what he thought. He did all of that in front of Burt. They were frustrated and they were angry, but they had not harmed him. They were actually rather kind to him, offering him the bathroom and a glass of water.

Dave looked around to Kurt and to Blaine and to Burt. He said, "I know I really screwed up. It's my responsibility and I can see now that what Blaine said is true. I was not man enough to face things head on. I'm still scared if you want to know the truth. But I get it now. I know that it is my issue to deal with and I can't force anything to happen that is not going to happen. Kurt, I'm sorry that I disrespected you at your own house. Blaine, I am sorry that I disrespected you, because I know how you feel about Kurt. Burt, I am sorry you had to go through this tonight because of me." Dave was quiet for a couple of seconds. "But can I ask you guys one favor?"

Kurt stopped fiddling with the hem on his shorts and stared up at Dave. Blaine knitted his eyebrows and glared.

Burt was the only one who spoke. "You want a favor?" There was disbelief in his voice, the same disbelief that was being experienced by the boys on the couch.

Dave nodded, almost eagerly. "Could you guys help me figure out how to talk to my dad?"

-To Be Continued-