Kurt didn’t know where he was when he woke up. All he felt was the excruciating pain radiating from every fiber of his body. He tried to sit up but his arms couldn’t support his body weight. He finally realized that his left arm was broken and that he was lying on the ground. He managed to open one eye but couldn’t see much in the dark. He tried to sit himself up again but this triggered pain so intense pain that he blacked out.

The next thing he knew he was being hauled up by this arms. He couldn’t help but scream he screamed as his broken arm was yanked. He was roughly shoved into a chair and a bottle of water was handed to him. He drank greedily until he had emptied the bottle. He looked around blinking at the bright sunlight shining through the filthy windows. He noticed a group of men huddled against a wall. Some were loaded down with weapons and had their faces covered with bandanas. The two that were standing in front of Kurt started speaking.

“What is your name?” asked one of the men. Kurt didn’t know if he was the leader or just their interpreter.

“My name is Kurt Hummel.”

“What were you doing on the road to Baghdad?”

“My name is Airman Kurt Hummel. My serial number is 555-56-5555. My date of birth is May 27, 1990.” He was slapped hard and the question repeated.

“I am required to state my rank, name, date of birth and serial number according to the Code of Conduct. My name is Airman Kurt Hummel. My serial number is 555-56-5555. My date of birth is May 27, 1990.” After the fourth time he was asked the same question and his answer remained the same he was hit so hard that he was knocked unconscious. He welcomed the darkness.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed but he slowly gained consciousness. He could hear the men talking amongst themselves so he decided to keep his eyes closed and listen to see what he could learn about his situation. The men were talking in Arabic and Kurt tried to follow the conversation even though he had trouble pushing past the pain.

“This one is tough. You can tell he has seen combat before even though he looks young. I wonder how he got his scar.”

“All I want to know is what were they doing, where were they coming from and to see what else we can learn about their mission.”

“Did you have to hit him hard enough to knock him unconscious?”

“I only tapped him a few times.”

“I know I can get him to talk…dammit I can’t believe they sent us here without our tools. I hate hitting people. It really damages my hands.”

“Yes well – sometimes we need to improvise. Now we have to wait until he is conscious again.”

“Throw him back into the back room and bring out the next one. Let’s see which one of them will give us what information we need.” Kurt wasn’t sure who was talking about but before he could gather more information he was unceremoniously dragged out of the room, thrown into a different room, kicked a few times and again the darkness embraced him.

Kurt felt the hands soothingly run through his hair and he heard a melody he hadn’t hear in a long time. He felt the brush of lips on his forehead. “Blaine?”

“No honey it’s me?”

“Mom?”

“Yes sweetie. I’m here. Just rest. I’ll take care of you.” Kurt could feel her hands gently rest his broken arm on his chest. He groaned in pain and she instantly soothed him. “Mom it hurts.”

“I know sweetie. I can try to take some of the pain away but I can’t take away all of it.”

“They will keep hurting me won’t they?”

“Yes. They want information and they will keep hurting you until they get what they are looking for.”

“I won’t give them anything.”

“My poor boy.” Kurt felt her tears fall on his face as she leaned in to kiss his swollen face. “Can you sing me a song like you used to when I was little and I would fall off of my bike and get hurt?” he asked. He fell asleep with his mother singing an old lullaby. He felt warm and loved.

Kurt woke up when he heard the door open. He turned his face to the door and saw two men throw Corporal Smith into the room. Smith was out cold. Kurt could see that the man had also taken quite a beating. His leg was twisted in a weird angle so he figured it was broken. He tried to get up off the floor but couldn’t so he just dragged himself over to his friend. He found a pulse and was glad that his friend was alive.

“Smith, wake up,” he whispered. He wasn’t sure where the enemy was and didn’t want to get caught talking. He gently shook the sleeping man and he heard his groan in pain.

“Smith, wake up.”

“Hummel?”

“Yeah it’s me. Can you move?”

“My leg is broken and I think I have a concussion from the damn beating I just got plus bumps and bruises. What about you?

“My left arm is broken, pretty sure I have a concussion and am pretty sure I was hallucinating because I thought my dead mother was singing me a lullaby and I can barely open my eyes since they are pretty much swollen shut.”

“Who else is here?”

“You are the only one I’ve seen. I don’t remember much after that grenade hit us and I flew out of the truck. Next thing I know I’m being asked questions and I guess they didn’t like my answers since they beat the shit out of me.”

“Sounds like a repeat of what happened to me. All they got out of me was my rank, name, date of birth and serial number.”

“Yeah that’s what they got from me too. I wonder how long they are going to interrogate us.”

“I figure until we break or die.” Kurt was right. They decided to keep track of the days by marking a line in the dirt. Before long they had 10 lines and the last one was drawn by Smith using his nose since both of his hands were now broken along with all ten fingers. Kurt fared no better. Neither one was sure how much longer they could take the beatings and the constant pain.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxox

Burt was going crazy. It had been over a week since Kurt had been missing in action and there was no new information. On the 9th day he woke up to find Jonathan talking to an Air Force General in the living room. His heart plummeted and his feet almost gave out. He grabbed the back of the couch and could only whisper, “Kurt?”

Jonathan ran over to him and guided him to the couch. “Shit Burt, I’m sorry. No we haven’t heard anything about Kurt yet. This is General Harvey. He worked for me as a Lieutenant and he is now stationed at the Pentagon. He is here as a friend. I’m sorry we almost gave you a heart attack. He came by with some disturbing news. We were just about to get a coffee and talk. Join us?”

The three men made their way into the kitchen. Marissa was fixing coffee and taking some biscuits out of the oven. “Jack, it’s good to see you!” she exclaimed giving General Harvey a hug.

“Marissa, it’s good to see you and Jonathan. I’m just sorry it is under these circumstances.”

“Jack is here with some news. Let’s all grab a coffee and sit down.”

“The news isn’t good. There were originally five men missing in action. Yesterday afternoon three bodies were dumped off near the village right outside Camp Victory. The bodies were identified as American service members. None of the bodies were Kurt but they were some of the men that were missing along with Kurt.”

“Do they know how they died?” asked Burt. He could tell General Harvey didn’t want to answer the question. “Please, I need to know the truth.”

“They were tortured extensively and then shot pointblank.” Burt almost lost it at that moment. Just the thought of his baby being tortured made him sick. He left the kitchen and walked back to his bedroom and did not come out for the rest of the day. He knew he needed to be strong for Carole but she was working a double shift so he took the time to cry. He would have to call Blaine and update him but he wanted wait until he was sure he wouldn’t break down when he was talking to Blaine. He needed to be strong. Burt was surrounded by family but Blaine was all alone in Wyoming and he needed someone to lean on. Kurt had made him promise that if anything happened to him while he was in Iraq he would look after Blaine. He was damned if he wouldn’t keep his promise to his boy.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“Jack, tell me how these men were tortured,” said Jonathan after Marissa had left the room to check up on Burt. He didn’t want her hearing this conversation.

“Are you sure you want to hear the details?”

“I need to know.”

“They were severely beaten and it seems that almost every bone in their body was broken. They endured an enormous amount of pain before they died. There is something else I need to inform you of Jonathan. It seems that a reporter found the connection between you and Kurt and the story was posted online before we could stop it from leaking.”

Jonathan had been dreading the moment but knew that sooner or later the news would be out in the open. Jonathan had been instrumental in the planning and implementation of thousands of strikes against the enemy during the first Persian Gulf War and other classified incidents in the Middle East during his time in the military. He was a man that was respected and hated by most Middle Eastern countries. There had been numerous assassination attempts on General Allen’s life while he was on active duty. It seemed that once he retired and was out of the limelight he had been forgotten. However, Jonathan knew that as soon as the men holding Kurt hostage found out that they were holding General Allen’s grandson as a POW Kurt would most likely be killed in retaliation.

“Jack thank you for coming all the way down here to tell me in person. Please let me know if you hear anything else.”

“I’m truly sorry Jonathan. I wish we had more information. We have a search and rescue team out looking but no one seems to know who is holding him prisoner or where they are holding him. I will call you if there is anything to report.” Jonathan knew his friend meant that he would contact him when Kurt’s body was found. First Elizabeth and now Kurt. The only reason Jonathan survived losing his daughter was because of his grandson. He couldn’t lose him. He put his head down and let the tears fall.

xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxo

“Kurt – wake up.”

Kurt could barely move but Mr. Schue kept telling him to wake up. “Ok – Ok – I’m awake.”

“I know it’s hard Kurt but you have to wake up. You can’t let the darkness suck you in.”

“It hurts.”

“I know but you need to focus on something other than the pain. Remember the good times at McKinley…”

Kurt interrupted him, “Other than Glee Club there were no “good” times at McKinley Mr. Schue. I was bullied every day and no one tended to notice or do anything about it which is why I would rather be asleep at the moment.”

“Okay well what makes you happy?”

“Blaine,” Kurt didn’t even hesitate to answer.

“Tell me about him.” Kurt proceeded to tell Mr. Schue all about Blaine and how they managed to stay together even though they were stationed far apart from each other.

“Don’t give up Kurt. Keep focusing on staying strong and just remember that there are people that love you and need you to stay alive. I’ve got to go but I’ll come back to visit.”

Kurt managed to wake up but almost succumbed to the pain. He hurt. He couldn’t even remember how long he had been out this time around. He looked around and noticed Smith by the far wall. He looked bad and he could hear him wheezing.

“Smith – you awake?”

“Barely, I’m having trouble breathing. I think they broke some of my ribs and I’m hoping like hell they don’t puncture a lung. I would hate to die anytime soon. I was wondering when you were going to wake up. You kept mumbling about someone. All I could make out was the name Blaine and something about his shoe. Who is Blaine?”

“My boyfriend and no I wasn’t talking about his shoe I was talking to Mr. Schue, my teacher, which means I seriously have some type of concussion going on. How long have we been here now? I vaguely remember the fifth mark on the floor but everything after that is a blur all I remember is someone trying to shove rice down my throat.”

“We are on day 15. They stopped trying to interrogate us. I think the guys interrogating us left along with most of the guards. I heard a vehicle outside after the last time I was taken to question and I’ve only seen the guy who brings us water and rice since then. Not sure when the rest will return but as long as they aren’t here we aren’t being used as punching bags.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t been awake to keep you company.”

“Yeah, I can see your social skills need some help.” Kurt tried to laugh but it hurt too much so he just lay there like a lump.

“I keep thinking about my wife and daughter. They are probably going crazy wondering if I’m alive or not.” He started coughing and couldn’t speak for a while. “It hurts bad – Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Not sure I can guarantee anything but you can ask.”

“If I don’t make it out of here can you let them know that they were the last thing I thought about and that I loved them very much?”

Kurt was silent for a few minutes before he replied, “I want to say yes, I can do that for you but I’m right next to you laying in a pile of my own blood and body fluids so I’m not sure I can deliver on that favor.” He shifted his body but the wave of dizziness that accompanied any movement took his breath away for a few minutes. “Will you let my family know the same thing if I don’t make it out?”

Smith groaned, “Yeah….I’m tired Hummel….I’m going to just sleep for a bit.”

Kurt tried to stay awake. He tried to move his limbs but he couldn’t. His body was on fire. He didn’t know if he had a fever or if it was the intensity of the pain that was radiating throughout his body but eventually he passed out.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox

Burt put down the phone and sighed. He hated breaking Blaine’s heart but he had made a promise that he would keep him abreast of the situation. Blaine tried to take leave to come home but it was denied. There were too many troops getting deployed and with the fast build-up in the Middle East all vacations had been canceled.

Burt told him to stay in Cheyenne. There was nothing any of them could do for Kurt at the moment except pray for him and he felt that Blaine needed the distraction of work to keep him sane. He himself was doing extra shifts at the shop to keep himself busy. He had left early today because he needed to go visit Elizabeth.

Burt drove out to the cemetery after stopping by the florist’s shop. He set the bouquet of flowers on the vase that was attached to the headstone and started pulling the weeds from around his wife’s grave.

“Kurt is missing but I’m sure you already know that – God Lizzie, I don’t know what to do. I feel so helpless. Our baby is out there and I know he is scared and probably hurting and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I know you are with him taking care of him. Tell him he is loved and we want him home safe.” He sat by her side for a while lost in the memories of his son. He felt a sense of peace settle on him and he knew that he would have to stay strong. Kurt would need him when he came home. With a renewed sense of hope he walked back to his car and headed home.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“Sweetie, try to wake up and drink some water.”

“I can’t mom. My arms are broken and I can’t seem to lift my head high enough to tip the cup over.”

“How about if you nudge it with your nose and try to tilt it a bit.”

“I can’t even feel my nose mom. I think it’s broken as well.”

“You’ve got to try Kurt. You can’t give up. Your dad needs you to come home safe and sound. It will kill him if you don’t come home. Now, young man – wake up and try to get water!”

“Okay – way to go with the guilt trip.”

Kurt woke up and tried to shuffle his body closer to the cup that contained water. He couldn’t move his hands but he nudged the cup until it was up against the wall and he was able to tilt it a bit. He spilled some on the dirt floor but he did manage to get some water down his throat. The cup was routinely filled with water and the plate normally had some type of broth and rice in it. His jailer would try to shovel a few spoonfuls of broth into his mouth but Kurt was having trouble swallowing. He was surprised the guy kept trying to feed him and Smith. They probably wanted them to heal faster so that they could continue interrogating them. He supposed it would be hard trying to get information out of a corpse. Kurt was exhausted his body was simply shutting down in order to heal and Kurt gave up trying to stay awake.

Hours later Kurt woke up and looked over to see if Smith was awake but he couldn’t tell. “Smith,” his voice was raspy and his throat burned.

“Hmmmm”

“You doing ok? Have you had some water?”

“I saw you nudge the cup and get some water so I tried to copy you and managed to almost drown myself when most of it went up my nose but I did manage to get some.”

Kurt was about to say something when he heard a commotion outside the room. He watched the door swing open and two men came in and grabbed his arms and dragged him out. He almost passed out from being manhandled and they had to tie him to the chair because he couldn’t keep his body in the chair.

He focused all his energy on the man sitting across from him. He could feel himself starting to black out when he was hit in the face with a bucketful of water. He started chocking and coughing which hurt like hell. He glared at the man and he noticed that he was about to be interrogated by a different man. This one was a dressed in jeans and a Harvard sweatshirt and looked to be in his early 30’s.

“Is General Jonathan Allen your grandfather?” Kurt’s was surprised at how flawlessly this man spoke English and his eyes widened at the mention of his grandfather.

“My name is Airman Kurt Hummel….,” he was interrupted before he could continue.

“Your birthday is May 27, 1990. Your mother was Elizabeth Allen Hummel who died in New York City on September 11, 2001. Your father is Burt Hummel who is currently married to Carole Hudson. Your step-brother is Finn Hudson who currently attends college. Your grandfather is General Jonathan Allen and your uncle is General George Allen, commander of the Marine Corps Base at 29 Palms California. Last but certainly not least is your boyfriend Blaine Anderson, currently stationed at F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming.”

Kurt looked at him in shock but didn’t speak as his captor continued, “I know everything there is to know about you Airman Hummel. I also know that you have been interrogated by men who are experts in their field and yet they were not been able to break you. Granted you haven’t been here that long and they didn’t quite have their special “instruments” designed to make men speak. Luggage tends to get misplaced and imagine their disgust when their bag containing all the tools of their trade was lost by the airlines.”

He pointed at one of the men, “Hakin here tells me that there were originally five of you captured but the other three unfortunately didn’t make it. They tried their best but eventually the pain was too much and they begged to be put out of their misery. However, he speaks highly of you and your friend. True warriors - but I would expect nothing less of General Allen’s grandson. I forget my manners – would you like some water?”

Kurt nodded and Hakin grabbed a bottle of water and held it up to his lips. He relaxed his throat and let the water slide down his throat. “Thank you.”

“Let me tell you a story Airman Hummel. My father was a Colonel during the first Persian Gulf War as you Americans so eloquently call it. He was captured along with his company during a confrontation with the Americans. He was taken prisoner along with my uncles and twelve of his men. They were beaten and interrogated before they were brought before their leader. My father, as the ranking officer was interrogated intensively for a few days. He was not in good shape when he was finally brought before the American leader. Do you know who that was?”

Kurt shook his head. He had an idea but he wasn’t about to say anything that might set this man off.

“The man in charge of the squadron was Brigadier General Allen. He took one look at how my father and his men were treated and all hell broke loose. He had the men responsible for the condition of my father and his men court-martialed. He apologized to my father and had the medics tend to his wounds. My father was treated with respect and when the conflict was over he was released in accordance with the Geneva Convention. During his time in captivity my father and your grandfather formed an unlikely friendship. My father always spoke about your grandfather with respect. He firmly believed that had your grandfather not been a man of honor, he would have had my father and his men killed. Tensions were running high on both sides of the conflict and many men were killed without due process under the guise of war. Unfortunately this type of behavior is common during war. Because of your father’s honorable behavior my father was able to see me and my siblings grow up. He was a changed man after he met your father he knew that he had been given a second chance at living his life and he made the most of it for himself and his children. He made sure we knew how important we were in his life and he gave us the best of everything. All of his children, even the females were educated in the United States,” he gestured at his sweatshirt.

“I went to Harvard as did most of my siblings. He also became obsessed with your grandfather and tried to keep up with his career. It wasn’t until my sister bought him a laptop a few years ago that he discovered the wonders of the internet. Now he routinely surfs the internet. He actually gets alerts whenever your grandfather’s name is mentioned in way, shape or form.”

Kurt just listened. The story was fascinating but the pain was becoming too much for him to handle sitting in his position. He could hear the man’s voice but couldn’t make out what he was saying. His body was screaming and his mind finally gave in to the darkness. He wasn’t sure how long he was out but he was shaken awake by Hakin. He opened his eyes and managed to focus on the man sitting in front of him.

“I apologize for not realizing you must be in tremendous pain. I had Hakin give you some morphine. That should help control some of the pain.” Kurt actually did feel better. “Thank you,” he croaked. Hakin had him drink some more water before the story continued.

“Imagine my father’s surprise when he got an alert on an article that mentioned that the grandson of General Allen had been one of the men missing in action. Mind you no one really knows where you are or even if you are still alive. Everyone thinks you are still in Iraq when in reality you are in Afghanistan. They have had search and rescue teams out looking for you but they have not been looking in the right direction. My father made a call that immediately stopped your interrogation. Unfortunately, it was too late for your friends. He was afraid that you had been killed. My father wishes to settle his debt to your grandfather and has asked me to turn you over to the Red Cross. I am only authorized to release you. Your friend will continue to be a guest for however long it takes for us to gather any information we can. Hakin here will be taking you to a village where the International Red Cross has a small clinic set up. They are actually working there for the next two days immunizing children. You will be dropped off at the clinic. Any questions?”

“I can’t leave my friend here.”

“You have no choice. I have only been authorized to release you.”

“You were authorized to release one prisoner. Release him and keep me.”

“Let me see if I understand. You are being offered your freedom and yet you are willing to give it to another man?”

“Yes.”

“Why? What makes his life more valuable than yours?”

Kurt wanted Smith’s daughter to grow up with her family intact. He knew how hard it was to grow up missing one parent. This is why he joined the military to make the difference in someone’s life. “He has more to live for than I do.”

“Are you referring to his wife and daughter? Don’t look surprised. The internet is a marvelous thing. We even have his FICO score.”

“You mentioned that your father was able to watch his children grow which means that you had a father while growing up. I know what it means to have a parent taken away from you at an early age and why shouldn’t his child have the same opportunity you were given?”

“What about Blaine?” Kurt’s heart shattered but he knew he was making the right choice. “Blaine is an adult who will move on with his life just like my father did when my mother died and before you ask yes, I’m sure my dad will be devastated but he isn’t alone anymore and he will survive. Their hearts will break but eventually they will scab over unlike a child’s heart which never gets over the loss of a parent.”

“I will let you think about your decision overnight. I don’t want you to make a hasty decision especially under the influence of a narcotic. I will see you in the morning.”

“Smith is having trouble breathing. Take him to the Red Cross tonight. My decision has already been made and I won’t change my mind. I would hate for him to die unnecessarily.”

The man turned and gave Hakin directions to prepare Smith for transportation. He was about to leave the room when he heard Kurt speak. “Please don’t tell Smith about our arrangement. I don’t want him to live with my death on his conscious. He will not leave me without a fight. You will probably have to give him enough medication to knock him out.” He saw the man nod and he asked, “What is your name?”

“My name is not important Airman Hummel,” he replied as he walked out the door. Kurt was taken to his room and he saw that a cot had been brought in for him to sleep on. Smith was no longer in the room and Kurt felt the mental and physical exhaustion hit him. Thanks to the morphine he was able to sleep comfortably for the first time since he had been captured.

“What have you done Kurt?”

“I did what I had to do mom. He deserved to go back to his wife and daughter.”

“What about what you deserve? What about your freedom.”

“Can you sing to me? I can always find my freedom in your songs.” He drifted off to with the sound of his mother’s singing in his ear.

“I’m so proud of you Kurt,” she whispered to her son as he slept.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxo

Smith had been shaken awake and moved to a different room from the one in which he was routinely interrogated. He was given a chair and he slumped over and almost fell out of the chair until he was tied down. He figured it was pretty much a method of keeping him in the chair not out of any danger of him trying to escape. He wouldn’t get too far with two broken legs. There was a different man sitting at the table wearing a Harvard sweatshirt.

“Corporal Smith, I will not be asking you questions so you can rest easy on that count. I was sent here by my father to release Airman Hummel. It seems my father owes General Allen a debt and he thought he could settle the debt by giving Airman Hummel his freedom. However, Airman Hummel decided your life was far more valuable than his so you will be taking his place. You will be turned over to the Red Cross tonight.”

Smith was shocked, “NO! I refuse to take Hummel’s…..”

He was interrupted, “You have no say in the matter Corporal Smith. It was Airman Hummel’s decision. He didn’t want you to know he gave up his life for yours, something about not wanting you to feel guilty about living after he is dead. I however don’t agree with that sentiment. You should live with the knowledge that someone gave up their life so your child could grow up with a father. Knowing this will guarantee that you live your life to the fullest and don’t just waste it,” without another word the man left.