"Hey, Mom, are there any chips in the pantry?"

Carole took a deep breath as she cradled the phone against her ear and tried to not get upset with Finn. Her son was a wonderful young man, and he was sad about what had happened with Burt, but unlike herself and Kurt, he showed his grief in a very different way. Finn had always had a knack for letting the worst in life roll right off of him. It was something Carole had always admired about her son, but she knew when Burt's heart attack really hit him, just like when other things had in the past, he'd be in rough shape for a while. Hopefully, she or Quinn would be around for him when it did.

"I don't know, Finn," she said in clipped tones. "Come in here and look for yourself. I'm on hold with McKinley."

Finn thundered his way in from the living room a moment later, his usual smile absent, as he tugged the pantry door open and started knocking bags and boxes around. After a moment, he gave a triumphant cry and appeared with a bag of Doritos.

As Carole waited impatiently for the secretary to answer, Finn sat down at the counter and started stuffing his face.

"What are you calling McKinley for?" Finn asked around a mouthful of chips.

Carole sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Her nerves were shot and right now her temper was ready to snap at anything. She'd spent all afternoon at the hospital finding out everything she could about Burt's situation and talking to the doctors who had taken him in when he'd arrived. Then she'd tried to comfort Kurt, who was completely shutting down and shutting Blaine out, while Finn wandered around clueless and looked for food. There'd been no chance for her to even think about grieving or crying because there was so much to do. There were two teenage boys who were depending solely on her right now, and if she counted Blaine, then she potentially had three.

"I'm calling to let them know what's going on and that Kurt's attendance won't be regular for a while," Carole said after a moment. "He's going to be at the hospital a lot and–"

She swallowed as the McKinley secretary picked up the line.

"Mrs. Hudson? I'm sorry about the wait–"

Finn crunched on a few chips and watched her as she explained the situation and why she was calling and that, for now, she would be Kurt's acting guardian for absentee notes and all calls regarding him from the school. She was suddenly very grateful that Burt and her had decided to add both of their names to each boy's emergency cards at the beginning of the school year. It made the entire process much simpler.

While she was waiting for the woman to finish adding her notes to give to various teachers and staff, there was a knock at the door. Finn jumped up and thundered out of the room, chip bag in tow. Carole barely paid attention to it. It was probably one of Burt's co-workers from the shop, coming for news on how he was doing. Carole made a mental note to call one of them if she could find their phone numbers. They needed to know what the situation was so Steve could be there to open in the morning since he was the only other person with a key.

The secretary finished her notes and Carole said goodbye before hanging up. The room was spinning and her head was throbbing. Everything had been fine just the other day. Blaine and Kurt had started talking again, Burt had told her over the phone just last night that everything Kurt had suspected was true, and while she had her own questions, she'd been willing to wait to ask them. Their lives had become so positive and happy recently and now nothing felt right. It felt cracked and ready to shatter if there was just one wrong blip on Burt's heart monitors.

After a few deep breaths, Carole sat down at the counter where Finn had just been. It was strangely painful to be in Burt's kitchen – a place where they'd cooked and laughed so often – and to know he wasn't going to walk through the door tonight. He might never walk through a door again.

"M- Mrs. Hudson?"

Blaine's hesitant voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see him standing in the opening to the living room, lower lip between his teeth and eyes bright with unshed tears. In Kurt's abrupt hurry to leave the hospital earlier, she'd unwittingly left Blaine down in the cafeteria. Finn had taken him downstairs to get him something to eat or a coffee while Carole had gone inside Burt's room. She hadn't understood why Kurt had so suddenly turned Blaine away, but once she was in the room she'd figured it out rather quickly. Kurt thought Blaine was there to take his dad away, and Blaine, not knowing that Carole knew the truth, hadn't said anything about why he was out in the hall.

"Blaine," she greeted, trying to smile and only managing a grimace. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry we just left like that. Kurt really wanted to get out of there and–"

"It's fine," Blaine assured her. "The walk here gave me some time to clear my head a little. I just, um, wanted to drop Kurt's bag off. He left it in the waiting room."

He unhooked one of the bags over his shoulder and set it down on the kitchen table. With another surge of guilt, Carole looked him over, taking in the sweat on his brow and around the collar of his shirt. Blaine had arrived at the hospital with Kurt, Ms. Pillsbury, and Mr. Schuester. When they'd all left he'd had no ride back here. She looked him over, from the curls pulling loose from his gel down to his muddy shoes. The hospital was miles from here.

"Oh, Blaine, you should have called," Carole said sadly. "I'm so sorry. I just forgot with everything and I didn't realize you didn't have a ride and– your feet must be so sore."

"It's fine," Blaine repeated. He bit his lip as Carole bustled over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. "H- how's Kurt?" he asked uncertainly. "I... he's mad at me and I didn't want to call and upset him so–"

"He's shut himself down in his room," she admitted, a pressure starting behind her eyes. "I don't– I'm not sure how to reach him or if I should give him space for right now."

Blaine swallowed, accepted the bottle of water, but didn't open it. "He... he doesn't like to be alone when he's upset," he said carefully. "He might push everyone away, but he really just wants someone to push back and–"

"Do you want to take some soup down to him?" Carole said abruptly, gesturing to the stove top where a big pot was still on the burner. It was just a dozen cans of store brand chicken noodle, but trying to cook anything, especially here without Burt, wasn't something she could handle right now. "He needs you," she added, knowing that of the three of them, Blaine was the one Kurt would want. Blaine was the only one who had dealt with Kurt's grief before, even if it had been eight years ago. Carole bit her lip for a moment before continuing, "You know him best after all. Finn and I didn't even know Kurt when his mother died, but you... you were there for him then so–"

Blaine choked on his water and dribbled some down his polo. "Y- you– how did you–"

"Burt told me after Kurt confronted you," she admitted, watching him carefully. "He said he didn't really want to believe it, but... there aren't a lot of other choices but to believe it, especially with how you reacted."

Blaine nodded slowly, looking uncomfortable as he screwed the cap back onto his water bottle. "Yeah, well, it's not something I'll ever react well to, I guess."

"Right," Carole agreed awkwardly. She turned back to the stove, grabbed a bowl from the few she'd set out and started filling it with soup. Then she filled a second and told Blaine to grab the tray from under the island. Together they arranged the two bowls, drinks, and napkins, before she carefully handed it all to Blaine.

"He's probably fallen asleep by now," Carole said uncertainly. "I'm really not sure. I've called down to him a few times, but he doesn't answer and I don't want to upset him further–"

"He's still awake," Blaine told her with such certainty that Carole briefly wondered if Blaine being dead meant he had some sort of bizarre set of superpowers. "I'll see if I can get him to eat or sleep, okay? He might just throw the whole tray back in my face, but–"

"He won't," Carole assured him. "You're his best friend and he's hurt and scared and worrying himself to death."

Blaine nodded at her, let her open Kurt's door for him, then headed down to his room. She watched him disappear around the bend in the staircase, then closed the door. In an hour or two she'd go down and check on them. Right now, she had to feed Finn and then give herself a little while to let everything from today sink in.

After making sure Finn was set with dinner, Carole headed upstairs and into the master room. She regretted entering the room at all, but it was the only place that had a few changes of clothes for her besides her own house. Trying her best to ignore the pajamas flung across the unmade bed, Carole tugged the top drawer open and pulled out her own pajamas. As quickly as she could, she left the room and headed to the hallway bathroom. There was a much nicer bathroom in Burt's room, but she couldn't stomach the thought of being in there right now.

Carole spent close to an hour in the shower, sitting down under the hot spray and finally letting herself cry and release all the emotions she'd held back for the sake of Kurt and Finn. By the time she returned to the main floor, Finn was back in the living room, the dishes were (surprisingly) cleaned up, and there was one bowl left out for her to eat. Touched at her son's unexpected thoughtfulness, Carole sat down to eat while Finn hollered at the baseball game in the other room.

She cleaned up her own bowl afterwards, and headed into the living room.

"Have you seen Blaine or Kurt since I went upstairs?" she asked, rubbing Finn's shoulder to draw him out of the game.

"Huh? Oh, no," Finn said disinterestedly. "I think they're watching something else downstairs. Kurt doesn't like baseball."

Carole patted him on the shoulder, and looked towards Kurt's bedroom door. It was still sealed shut. "I'm going to go check on them," she said. "Kurt's had a rough day."

Finn nodded and met her eyes for a moment. It was rare when she saw him look so serious, but she was grateful to see how much Finn cared about Kurt.

"Tell him there's a bunch of pizzas in the freezer in the garage if he doesn't want the soup," Finn insisted, looking concerned.

"I will, dear," she agreed, knowing Kurt wouldn't care a bit about food right now, but with Finn it was everything and the suggestion came from his heart.

Carole stood up and left Finn with his game as she turned and opened Kurt's door. Silence greeted her, but she descended the stairs anyway. Hopefully they would both be asleep now. They had to be exhausted after today. If Blaine was asleep it would mean not having to ask the difficult questions that had been ricocheting around in her head all day.

With a shake of her head, Carole stepped onto the landing and looking into Kurt's room. The lights were still off, but the television was on and the same game from upstairs was playing. She watched the screen for a moment, seeing the words scrolling up the screen because it had been muted. The choice of programming surprised her, but when she stepped down the last few steps and looked at the bed she understood why.

Kurt was sleeping soundly, head tucked against Blaine's shoulder and arms curled around the other boy's waist. If the circumstances had been different, it would have been a sight that would make her heart leap pleasantly. But Kurt was exhausted and upset, could potentially loose his father in the coming days. As much as she loved seeing Kurt and Blaine grow closer, she hated the reason why.

Blaine glanced over at her as she approached and gave a little half-wave from under Kurt's weight.

"He fell asleep not long after I came down," Blaine whispered, rubbing the hand curled under Kurt over his side soothingly. "Cried himself to sleep," he added sadly, "but I think he really needed it."

Carole nodded and sat down by Blaine's knees, gently brushing her hand over Kurt's cheek and hair as he slept. She wished Blaine had been asleep, too, because she hated how uncertain she felt about him and why he was here. Instead of asking the questions she desperately wanted answers for, Carole smiled softly at them.

"He's so peaceful when he's asleep," Carole said, eyeing Kurt's face. His jaw was relaxed and his hair had fallen down into his eyes. For a moment she could almost see the little boy Burt had showed her in old pictures.

"Yeah, he's a bit heavy though," Blaine grumbled, shifting a bit. "My whole left side has fallen asleep."

Carole smiled at his words, the first true smile since earlier that afternoon. "Yeah, he's grown a lot since me and Burt started–"

She paused and swallowed heavily, blinking repeatedly to keep her tears in check. Right now she couldn't afford to cry. Kurt and Finn and even Blaine were depending on her. Breaking down wasn't an option.

"Hey," Blaine said gently and she suddenly felt his hand close over where hers was resting on the bed. "It's all right. There's nothing wrong with crying."

His astuteness surprised her. Carole dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve and smiled again. The warmth and strength of Blaine's grip was shocking, too. After everything Carole had heard recently she'd expected him to be cold and brittle, more like a corpse than the young man she'd become acquainted with in the past month.

"I know, they just need me right now and I can't– I won't let them down," Carole said carefully. She bit her lip and glanced at Blaine, who was watching her almost expectantly.

"You can ask if you want," Blaine said after a moment, looking resigned. "Kurt already has. That's why he was mad, but I know you're probably thinking the same thing."

"You're here for Burt," Carole whispered, heart sinking with the weight of her certainty. Blaine looked so guilty when she spoke that it had to be true. Just like Blaine had been here when Kurt's mother had died, he was here now when Burt was fighting for his life.

"I'm not sure," Blaine admitted. "All I was told was to be here for Kurt and help him. I don't know what's going to happen anymore than you guys do." He cleared his throat and grimaced as he tried to free his left arm a little. "People have heart attacks all the time and they're fine–"

"But you're here."

"Yeah," Blaine agreed quietly. "I am."

They both fell silent. Blaine plucked at a loose thread on Kurt's sweater while Carole looked him over once more. He was so young, so gentle and kind. It horrified her to imagine what he'd been through in order to be here right now. Burt had said a little about the article Kurt had found, enough for Carole to know that Blaine's death had been traumatic, but she couldn't picture anyone being so cruel to such a sweet boy.

Yet, this same sweet boy wasn't really a boy. Blaine was, or should be, older than her, despite his appearance. He had been dead and some type of ghost thing for decades, and now...

ow he might be here to take Burt. Kurt's father. Finn's first real chance at having one after Christopher had died could be gone forever. Burt, who Carole had spent the past year falling in love with and hoping to spend many years more with, could leave with Blaine.

"My brother had a heart attack about ten years ago," Blaine said suddenly, looking up from where he was pulling at Kurt's sweater. "He's still alive. Really old, but still here."

His words shocked her once more. Burt and Kurt hadn't mentioned anything about a brother before. "You have a brother?"

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, well, had, I guess. He's old enough to be Kurt's grandfather."

"Gosh, so you're actually...?"

"If I hadn't died?" Blaine clarified. "I'd be in my sixties," he added with a cringe. "Some days I feel like it, and then other times I still feel like I'm sixteen."

His eyes drifted down to Kurt as he spoke and the light that appeared there when he brushed Kurt's hair off his forehead told Carole more than any words could. He had feelings for Kurt, perhaps romantic feelings for the first time in his life– well, after life. Blaine was possibly starting to feel all of the things she felt for Burt, and that terrified her almost as much as Burt's coma. If Blaine reciprocated Kurt's crush Carole could only imagine the heartache in store for both of them.

"I don't know," Blaine mumbled miserably. "There's so much I don't know, about this or life or anything," he added helplessly. "I might technically be older than you, but I only lived to sixteen. I've done a lot, helped a lot of people and stuff like that, but I'm still just a kid in a lot of ways."

"We'll figure it out," Caroled decided, easing Kurt off of Blaine so that he could lie down.

She tried to settled Kurt down beside him, but as soon as they were both laying down Kurt latched back onto Blaine and buried his face into the curve of his neck. Blushing, Blaine rubbed his face and yawned.

"Get some sleep, okay?" Carole told him. "We'll all go see Burt in the morning."

Carole was on the first step when Blaine's voice brought her back.

"I'm here until June, Carole, and I wish I could tell all of you that Burt is going to be fine, but I just don't know," Blaine confessed softly. He pressed his cheek against Kurt's hair in the glow of the television. "I think he will be," he added strongly. "This doesn't feel like one of those missions to me. Not with everything else I know I have to do while I'm here."

With a nod, Carole watched Blaine turn the television off. She listened to the static ripple across the screen and the creak of Kurt's mattress as Blaine shifted to put the remote on the night-stand. Carole hoped he was right, because if Burt died they would all fall apart. Kurt wouldn't make it through that, not without shutting himself away again. Only this time Kurt would lose himself entirely, because Burt would be gone and then in June, Blaine would be gone, too.

The slap of heavy footfalls from overhead woke Blaine the next morning. He groaned and opened his eyes slowly, finding a tuft of brown hair obscuring most of his view of Kurt's bedroom. It was still early. The window shades were dark, but Blaine could hear birds chirping out in the yard. The same set of feet thundered back across the floor as Blaine shifted and glared blearily up at the ceiling. That had to be Finn. Carole might be heavier than him, but only a teenage boy of Finn's loping grace could make that much racket before dawn.

Blaine yawned widely and nestled more deeply into the pillows, shifting slightly to take the majority of Kurt's dead weight off his numb arm. The shift made Kurt mumble in his sleep, but besides his grip on Blaine's shirt becoming tighter, he didn't move. Once he was sure that Kurt was still asleep, Blaine laid there with the boy's comfortable weight nestled into his side, and let his eyes adjust to the darkness for a few minutes.

Everything was warm and pleasant. It was the same feeling that always came with Kurt's presence, a heavy comfort in his limbs and chest, not from Kurt's weight, but from the warm brush of his breath against Blaine's neck, the soft features and gentle grip Kurt kept on him as he slept peacefully. For a moment, Blaine looked down, admiring Kurt in the semi-darkness. It was remarkable how different he looked from the little boy Blaine had first met. There were still traces of baby fat on his cheeks, but his jaw had grown sharper, his entire face had somehow figured out how to capture a beauty Blaine couldn't remember ever seeing. Despite Kurt's callous words and front, his features still remained gentle and true to the boy Blaine remembered. Kurt was every bit of that little boy still, but just like his body had stretched and grown so had his character.

Blaine smiled softly as Kurt murmured again and smacked his lips as he pressed his face more deeply against Blaine's neck. He was the sweetest person Blaine had ever met. Every inch of him sparkled with it and–

With a jolt in his stomach like a bullfrog trying to escape, Blaine sucked in a deep breath and returned his gaze to the ceiling. He couldn't keep thinking things like that. Kurt was nice, it was true. He was wonderful, but Blaine couldn't let himself get caught up in that. There were any number of things Blaine was here for, but falling in love wasn't one of them. Being in love was one feeling Blaine would never be able to experience.

Yet, he still had no idea what he really was here for, did he? What if–

No. He wasn't here for that. With another uncertain glance at Kurt's sleeping form, Blaine tried to slid his arm out from under Kurt's chest and failed. He was stuck then. At least until he woke Kurt up, but the very thought made his stomach flip pleasantly. Kurt would no doubt be adorable as he woke up, with messy hair and sleepy eyes.

Blaine shook his head and tried his best to scatter the thoughts. Falling in love and getting romantically involved with the boy he was here to help wasn't something he could ever do.

Of course, he knew the basics – face his past, help Kurt with something similar and his own bullies – but that wouldn't be enough to cover his time until June. Burt's coma was the only other logical issue he had to fill his time here and the idea that it would be that prolonged made Blaine feel nauseous.

Everything about this last mission was unusual from his uncovered identity to the lack of anything obvious that needed to be helped along by him. There was nothing to really spend his time focusing on except the one thing he couldn't stand to face. Perhaps that was the point. With no random little side projects to mess with, the only thing Blaine had to focus on was the biggest reason he was still here.

Finn's footfalls thundered back across the ceiling once more and Blaine rolled his eyes. He knew Finn in passing mostly, but he was fond of him. He seemed nice enough, if a little clueless. Kurt's bedroom door slapped open at the top of the stairs and Finn's feet carried him down to the basement bedroom with the grace of a stomping elephant.

"Hey, are you guys– hey, Blaine!"

"Shh!" Blaine said quickly, blushing as Kurt grumbled and squeezed him tighter. "Kurt's still asleep."

"Oh, sorry," Finn apologized as he stopped at the foot of the bed. "Did he eat? Cause I told Mom to tell him there's other stuff besides soup and eating always makes me feel better."

"No, I figure we can get him to eat a little today," Blaine said softly, watching Kurt's eyelashes flutter. Despite asking Finn to be quieter, he was still loud. It wouldn't be long before his voice woke Kurt up and Blaine was dreading it. Seeing Kurt wake up and go from warm and cozy to alert and upset once he remembered what had happened to his father wasn't going to be enjoyable.

"The hospital has pretty good pizza," Finn remarked. "I used to eat it all the time as a kid when my mom couldn't find a babysitter."

Blaine smiled slightly and nodded. In his own way, Finn was trying to be helpful and he appreciated it. Kurt might get annoyed by it, but Blaine understood the other boy.

"It sounds great," Blaine agreed. He shifted slightly and tried in vain to get himself out from under Kurt's weight. "Could you–"

"Oh, yeah! Sure!" Finn hurried forward and rolled Kurt off of Blaine rather roughly. Kurt groaned and whined, but Blaine sat up and stretched before Kurt could tug him back down again.

"Thanks," Blaine muttered, rubbing his left arm. "It's been asleep since he rolled over onto it last night while I was watching the game."

Finn stared at him in amazement as Kurt buried his face in one of his pillows and stopped shifting. "You like sports?"

Bewildered, Blaine glanced up and took in Finn's startled, but hopeful expression.

"Yeah, have since I was a kid," Blaine told him slowly. He was more than a little worried at how much that statement seemed to mean to Finn. "My friend and I used to–" Blaine stopped and tried not to flinch. They'd played baseball together at the park since they'd met at the stream behind their cul-de-sac as young kids. It was the same bat that had– "We grew up watching and playing," Blaine finished, his voice weak.

"But you're, like, gay, dude," Finn blurted, eyeing him like he was an exotic bird. "I thought all gay guys like the same stuff as Kurt. Isn't that how you tell them apart?"

"I– Finn, no," Blaine answered in disbelief. "That's not– I mean, I do like similar things to Kurt, too, but what interests you has no relationship to who interests you."

"But Kurt's always–"

"Kurt isn't every gay man in the world, Finn," Blaine told him slowly. "Some people like sports and some don't. Some people are gay and some aren't. Kurt might be interested in things that more girls are typically into, but he's still a guy regardless of what he likes. It's pretty simple."

"I– yeah, I guess." Finn frowned at his feet, looking thoughtful and slightly confused by everything Blaine had said.

Maybe this was another part of Blaine's mission. He could make Kurt's future easier if he helped those around him learn to not accept stereotypes so readily. He shrugged and stretched his shoulders before standing up.

"Well, Mom said breakfast is ready, so I'm just gonna... go eat," Finn jabbed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the stairs. Blaine nodded and thanked him as the other boy hurried towards the stairs.

He was just leaning down to begin waking Kurt up when Finn's voice made him pause.

"So do you like video games, too? Me and the guys – the Glee guys – usually hang out and play and stuff on the weekends," Finn mentioned uncertainly. "Kurt can't stand them, but if you're into them and ever want to hang out... "

Finn left the offer at that, but Blaine was surprised by it. Nobody besides Kurt had given him the time of day. It was a funny feeling to realize that someone outside of his focus person wanted to get to know him. Blaine sat down on the edge of the bed and nudged Kurt gently. He beamed down at him as Kurt twisted away and grumbled.

"He really likes you," Finn's voice informed him, suddenly much closer.

Startled, Blaine looked up and found Finn back at the foot of Kurt's bed, looking sad but hopeful, too.

"I think it's different than how he liked me last year," Finn told him. "He kind of creeped me out with it sometimes, but it's not the same with you 'cause you like him, too."

"I–"

"It's nice to see him smile like he does when you're over here, or when he talks about you," Finn continued strongly. "I've never seen Burt or my mom or Kurt or any of us as happy as we have been since you moved here. It's just been... nice to feel like we're finally finding a way to be a real family."

Except for Burt's heart attack and coma.

Blaine could hear the unspoken words that Finn left out of his little speech. If he was honest, he didn't want to bring it up either, but he also knew there was no other option but to face it, accept it, and figure out how to move forward from where they were now.

"Hurry up so we can make Kurt eat, okay?" Finn hollered. He took off, leaping his way up the stairs as Blaine gently shook Kurt's shoulder.

He tried not to sigh fondly at the little burble Kurt let out as he curled tighter around himself to fend off Blaine's attempts to rouse him. Attachment was one thing; it was even encouraged for missions. It made them more invested in what was going on and helping people, and, in turn, eventually helping themselves. But what he was feeling, this tumbling, spiraling, helpless, wondrous fall his stomach and heart kept taking every time he saw Kurt wasn't productive. It wasn't going to help either of them in the long run. If anything, it was only going to make things worse.

"Kurt, come on," Blaine insisted, shaking him and rolling him onto his back. "We've got to get some food into you."

Kurt groaned, but after a few more nudges, he blinked his eyes open and squinted at Blaine.

"Bre'fas?"

"Yeah, Finn said it's done," Blaine answered gently, trying and failing to hold back the smile pulling back his lips. He was in so much trouble already. A month in and he was falling hopelessly in love with the person he was here to help.

Kurt yawned and stretched languidly before balling his fists and rubbing his eyes with them. It was so adorable Blaine had to look away. What was he going to do now? If he couldn't keep his biggest secret from Kurt for more than a few weeks, then how was he going to hide this for another eight months?

"I'm gonna clean my face," Kurt muttered.

Blaine watched him slid off the bed and disappear into his bathroom. He sat there and stared at the empty bed for a long time, trying to convince himself that the funny tugging in his chest and the swoop of his stomach were just strange after effects from his Rupture. With a glance at the bathroom door, Blaine stood and hurried upstairs. If he got his head on straight and finally figured out where to focus his energy, then he could forget this. Falling in love wasn't an option available to him. He was dead and soon he'd be gone from this world forever. Kurt could never know. None of this was fair to him. The truth of Blaine's feelings would scare him off or, even worse, it would make him crave more between them and Blaine couldn't torment either of them in that way. Somehow, Blaine was going to have to forget this, to pretend he'd never experienced it or known how it felt. For Kurt's best interests he had to find a way to let this go.