"How is he, Burt?"

"Better -- I pulled him from school for the day."

"With graduation in less than a week?"

"Carole, he passed out watching a news report about his boyfriend's kidnapping."

She sighed and leaned against Burt on the couch, her head coming to rest on his shoulder.

"Has he been in his room all morning?" she asked softly.

Burt bit his lip and nodded.

"Yeah...God I wish there was something I could do -- he's hurting and I can't --"

Carole shook her head.

"You're home right now." she said. "I think that's doing something, don't you?"

He just smiled at her.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

---

"Mmm. We really should practice though."

Kurt smiled and laid his head on Blaine's chest, eyes closed. Screw Regionals...he never wanted to move from his current spot.

They were in the Senior Commons, curled up on one of the leather couches. Pavarotti's casket and the small CD player Blaine had brought with him lay untouched back in the other room, along with Blaine's blazer and Kurt's sweater.

He felt the other boy's hand move gently up and down his back, heard him humming 'Teenage Dream'.

"Do we have to? I sort of don't want to move." he mumbled.Blaine laughed and pulled the countertenor up for another, albeit softer and shorter, kiss.

"I don't either, but you know Wes will kill both of us if we're not prepared." he said before both teens sat up. "Come on." The slightly shorter boy stood and held out his hand. Kurt didn't hesitate to take it. "The sooner we practice the sooner we can go back to your dorm -- if Nick's gone, that is."

The brunette just laughed and allowed Blaine to pull him up and out of the Commons.

Kurt sighed and sat up on his bed. He glanced at his alarm clock. 11:45 AM. He couldn't sit here all day. He'd go crazy if he did.

He picked up his phone and dialled Cooper's number. It rang a few times, but then Blaine's brother did pick up.

Kurt? Aren't you supposed to be in school right now? he said.

"Not today. My dad kept me home after I had a bit of a freak out over the morning news." he replied. "Did you see it?"

No, but my grandparents told me about it. Cooper sounded tired...no, broken...terrified. He called me. He called me and she caught him. She hurt him because he called me...

Kurt bit his lip and grabbed his car keys. He didn't care if his father tried to stop him, but he just could sit back and do nothing while the boy he loved was missing.

"I'm coming over." he said finally. "and we are going to figure out how to find him ourselves."

Kurt --

"No! Sitting here and freaking out every time I hear or see something about the kidnapping isn't helping! I want to find him myself -- but I can't do it without you."

If we do this and we get close to him, and she finds out -- she could kill him, Kurt. You don't know what she's like. What you saw in Chicago was tame compared to what Blaine and I lived through.

"Then help me!" Kurt nearly screamed. "Help me save him and put her away! For good!"

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line, and Kurt felt his nerves kick up a notch.

Okay.

Kurt was off of his bed within seconds.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

---

What the hell are you doing? You said it yourself -- if she finds out you and Kurt are doing this, she could kill Blaine.

"Cooper?" he sat up on the couch and looked over at Heather.

"What, Grandma?" he asked. "Did the police call with news?"

She shook her head. Why did she look so nervous?

"Honey there's someone here to see you." she said.

Cooper felt his stomach lurch when his father walked into the room.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he cried.

Thomas looked uncomfortable.

"I came to apologize." he said. "For what happened to Blaine."

The younger man's eyes widened and within seconds he was up off the couch and pinning his father against the wall.

"Too late." he snarled. "You put the idea in her head to come here, and now he's gone. He's gone, and he's hurt. He could die. I won't forgive you for that -- if that's what you came here to say then get the hell out."

He let go of Thomas and turned to leave the room.

"B-But I know where she's going!" Thomas protested. "I know what her first stop is en route back to California!"