"Can we get out of here now?"

"You don't want to say goodbye—"

"No, please, Blaine, can we just go? I can only smile for so long with all of these people around me."

"All right." Blaine held his hand out to Kurt and they hurried out to the parking lot where Finn was waiting for them.

Blaine made to open the passenger door for Kurt but he shook his head, tears escaping with the action as he whispered, "Sit in the back with me, please?"

They climbed in and Kurt quickly put on his seatbelt before curling into Blaine's side, silently crying into his jacket.

"Wh...uh, what's...is everything ok-why do you have a crown on?" Finn asked confusedly.

Kurt whimpered, ripped the crown of his head and threw it into the front out of his view. Closing his eyes, he buried his face into Blaine's chest, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

Finn looked towards Blaine, hoping for some information.

"Kurt, uh, won Prom Queen. Some kind of 'joke' the school thought it would be okay to play. Karofsky won King," he explained.

"Did they...did Karofsky-"

"He ran off. I did the dance with Kurt, and he stood up there, but-"

"Overwhelming amount of votes," Kurt mumbled against Blaine's chest. "Figgins said I won by an overwhelming amount of votes. D-do they all r-really hate me that m-much?"

Finn looked at Kurt sadly before making eye contact with Blaine. An unspoken agreement seemed to pass between them. He started the car and drove back to the Hummel-Hudson residence in silence. They entered the house together and Finn clapped Kurt on the shoulder, telling he and Blaine to head to Kurt's room and go to bed. A sob escaped Kurt's throat as he wrapped his arms around Finn's waist.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"F-for what?"

"For changing. For not being like th-them."

Finn looked down at Kurt sadly and clumsily wiped some of the tears from his brother's face. "If they knew you like I do, they wouldn't feel the way they do. It's their loss."

Kurt smiled and pulled away, taking Blaine's hand and leading him up the stairs.

Hearing the noise, Carole came out from the kitchen to see them.

"Finn! How was everything? Where's Kurt?"

Finn sighed heavily. "I sent he and Blaine up to bed. Is Burt home?"

Carole looked at him, perplexed. "Not just yet, he got tied up at the garage. Finn, what's going on?"

"I'd rather tell you guys together, if that's okay."

"Tell us what?" Burt asked, coming through the front door.

"Uh, we should...we should sit." Finn led them into the living room. "Okay, first, mom, I should tell you I got kicked out of the Prom before it was over."

"You what?"

"I'm sorry, mom, it was Jesse St. James. But that's not important. You just needed to know that, because everything else I know from what Blaine told me."

"Okay..." Carole exchanged a worried look with Burt.

"Well, Blaine said that Kurt won Prom Queen. The school thought it was okay to play a joke on Kurt, you know, since he's gay. And Karofsky won King."

"Did that kid-" Burt started angrily before Finn cut him off.

"No, Blaine said he ran off before the 'King & Queen dance.' I guess when it was announced, Kurt was real beat up about it, but he went out there and faced them. He and Blaine shared a dance in front of everyone."

Burt sighed. "How can the administration just let that happen? How long does Kurt have to put up with this before they realize they have a real issue on their hands?"

Carole placed a hand over Burt's. "Kurt's strong, honey. He'll get through this. And he's got Blaine."

"Yeah...where are they, anyway?"

"I told them to go to bed. Kurt needs Blaine tonight and they both need sleep."

Burt opened his mouth as if to protest, but stopped himself. "Thanks, Finn. For being there for Kurt. He's gonna need you to help him through this. To help him face them all on Monday."

Finn nodded and stood. "I'm going to go to bed too, I think. Mom, I'm really sorry for getting in trouble."

"It's fine, honey. You go rest."

As Finn climbed the stairs, Burt turned to Carole, looking more weary than he had in years.

"How much longer does he have to be put down? Can't people understand that he's a person too?"

Carole pulled Burt into a tight hug. "I know, honey. I know. But all we can do is be there for him, and love him the way he is. The world is going to take a while to grow up, but for now, he's got us and he's got Blaine and he's got Finn and his Glee club. He'll make it."

Burt nodded, trying to think back to when Kurt was younger. It had all started when he was younger. He dressed different, he liked girl things, he sang. Burt remembered cleaning up Kurt's bumps and bruises that he would brush off as being from the playground, but he remembered the sadness in Kurt's eyes when he would tell him that. He remembered the first time someone called him a-a "fag"...Kurt came home in tears and buried his face in his father's coverall. He remembered when Kurt came out to him, the fear in his face...In that moment he knew he would have to protect Kurt as best he could, and love him as much as was possible to make up for all the hate in the world.

He remembered Kurt being upset as he bonded with Finn and Kurt trying to change himself. He remembered Kurt's voice breaking as he admitted that Karofsky threatened to kill him. He remembered the tears that fell when he told New Directions he was going to Dalton. And then...he remembered the glowing smile on his face when he first mentioned Blaine. He remembered the way he looked singing at Regionals with Blaine. The way he couldn't stop smiling when he introduced Blaine as his boyfriend.

He remembered the excitement as he and Blaine piled into the car with Finn and Quinn, expecting a regular prom. He pulled away from Carole, climbed the stairs and knocked softly on Kurt's door. He felt his heart break as Kurt opened it, tears still shining on his cheeks.

"I just wanted to say goodnight, kiddo. Finn told me what happened."

Kurt hugged his father as tightly as he could and Burt remembered the day his mother died. Kurt had climbed onto his lap and hugged him tightly, whispering, "Don't leave me daddy. You can't leave me too."

Burt hugged his only son back, and murmured, "You're better than all of them, Kurt. You're better than all of them and one day they'll see."

Kurt pulled away, wiped his eyes and headed back to his bed, where Blaine was sitting, wearing a pair of Finn's sweats and a t-shirt. Blaine stood and went to talk to Burt, both of them conversing in whispers as Kurt lay his head on his pillow.

"Blaine, you're fine to stay the night. And thank you. For being there for him."

Blaine smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Hummel. And it was nothing. I really, really care about him. Might even love him."

Burt smiled fondly. "I can see it. You take care of him, you hear?"

Blaine stuck his hand out to shake Burt's, but instead found himself pulled into a tight embrace.

"Take care of yourself too, Blaine. It's going to be tough for the both of you, this life."

Blaine blinked back unexpected tears, shocked at the fatherly affection he wasn't used to. "Thank you."

Burt watched as Blaine climbed into bed next to Kurt, pulling him in close.

Burt sighed heavily and closed the door gently, before trudging back downstairs to sit with Carole for a while before heading up to bed. He looked up at the ceiling, and whispered, "He's okay. He'll be okay. He's got too much of you not to be."

He sat down at the kitchen table with his wife, a cup of coffee in his hand and made the decision to go talk to Figgins on Monday. He wouldn't cause a commotion, because that would just play into the hands of everyone picking on his son. But he'd be damned if he let them get away with it.

He thought back to what he'd just done and seen upstairs, and he smiled, thankful for having sent Kurt to Dalton, thankful he'd had a taste of a tolerant world, and thankful he'd met Blaine. Maybe, just maybe he'll be okay without Burt stepping in every time.