It’s just after ten pm when the phone rings. Burt answers it with a glance at the caller ID, seeing that it’s Kurt.

“You and Finn are not staying out past curfew,” Burt says instead of greeting his son, figuring that’s what Kurt was calling about. He and Finn had gone with the rest of their glee club to go do… something, Burt was a little unsure on the details other than that it involved singing Michael Jackson’s “Bad.”

“Dad?” Kurt’s broken reply makes him sit straight up in his recliner, where he’d been watching Ghost Hunters On Demand.

“Kurt, what’s wrong?” he demands, gripping the phone tightly in his ear.

“Dad, please, I need you,” Kurt sniffles into the phone.

“Where are you?”

“Lima Memorial,” Kurt answers, “please come.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Burt promises, already up and shoving his feet into the nearest pair of tennis shoes he can find. He grabs his coat and asks, “What’s going on?” only to find that Kurt has hung up. Burt swears under his breath, getting his car keys and his wallet and jogging out to his truck. He debates calling Kurt back but decides not to because he doesn’t trust himself not to wreck his truck while talking, given the state of panic he’s in.

Kurt’s okay, he tells himself. Kurt was able to pick up the phone and call, he’s okay.

In no time at all, Burt finds himself running into the waiting room of the Lima Memorial ER. He spots the rest of the glee club right away: Finn, his arm around a crying Rachel. Santana, the girl outed in that campaign video is speaking Spanish at the top of her lungs while the daffy cheerleader that Kurt had ‘dated’ over a year ago clings to her. Puck and Sam (who was currently crashing in their guest room), were trying to calm her down. Burt has no idea what she’s saying, and he almost wishes he’d learned some Spanish. Mercedes and Tanya… no, Tina were crying, while a couple of other boys were comforting them. He doesn’t see Kurt anywhere.
He marches up to Finn.

“What the hell is going on?” Finn flinches.

“Kurt called?” he asks unnecessarily. Burt just stares at him. Finn sighs. “We were… we found out that our set list for Regionals had been leaked to the Warblers, so we decided to have a ‘Michael Jackson Off’ to determine who could do MJ,” Finn begins.

“Go on,” Burt says with a hard edge in his voice.

“It was going fine, until the end. One of the Warblers, this guy named Sebastian, threw a slushie. He was aiming for Kurt, but Blaine pushed him out of the way and it got Blaine in the face.”

“I know slushies are unpleasant, and I know you guys have seen more than you’re fair share, but have any of you ever had to go to the hospital because of one?” Burt asks, confused.

“I think there was something in the slushie,” Finn continues. “Blaine was screaming, Burt,” he says, and he sounds haunted in a way that kind of shakes Burt a little. “I’m pretty sure they did something to it, and whatever was in it got in Blaine’s eyes.”

Burt closes his eyes tightly against the information.

“What happened to the ‘zero tolerance’ bull that school is supposed to be preaching?” Burt wants to know. Finn shrugs. “Where are the other kids now?”

“They just left,” Rachel manages to get out. “They just left him there, screaming on the ground.”

“I thought he was friends with them.” Burt’s pretty confused by this turn of events. Finn shrugs again. “Where’s Kurt?”

“He went with Blaine,” Finn answers, “Mom came down a few minutes ago and went to look for him.”

Burt breathed a sigh of relief. He’d forgotten Carole was on the night shift at the hospital in his panic. That was good then, Carole was with Kurt and Blaine and the boys weren’t alone.
A few minutes passed. Santana stops shouting in Spanish as Burt sees Carole come down the hall with her arm around Kurt.

“Hey, kiddo,” Burt says when Kurt’s close enough. He pulls Kurt in for a hug, and Kurt lets him, shaking a little. “How’s Blaine doing?”

“He’s in a lot of pain,” Kurt practically whimpers and Burt’s heart breaks a little for him. “He can’t see very well.”

“The doctor took him for some tests,” Carole explains, speaking up so everyone can hear her. “You kids should probably head home.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Kurt insists. Burt knows that tone, and it’s not worth the fight it would be to get Kurt to leave. He turns to Finn.

“You guys better get going. You all have school tomorrow,” Burt says. “I’m going to go give Will a call and let him know what happened.” He watches as the kids in the glee club gather their things and start leaving – several of the girls pulling Kurt in for stiff hugs and the boys thumping him on the shoulder. Puck’s the last to go.

“You tell Blaine he’s one of us now,” Puck tells Kurt and Kurt smiles a little, but it’s a broken smile. “You tell him they’re going to pay for this.”

Then Puck’s gone, and it’s just Kurt and Carole in the waiting room. Burt pulls out his cell phone and calls Will Schuester.

He leaves a message on Will’s phone, and puts his away just as another nurse comes out to talk to Carole. Burt walks back over to them. “Blaine’s back in his room now,” Carole puts her arm around Kurt again. “We can go see him.”

Kurt wipes his eyes, and lets Carole lead him back toward the hall. Burt follows behind them, and there’s no sound but the occasional sniffle from Kurt and the scuffs of their shoes on the floor.

“They moved him to a private room,” Carole explains, taking them to the elevator and pressing the button. The wait for the elevator takes its toll on Kurt, who’s pacing a little. The ride is too quiet, and Burt is thankful when they can get out of the elevator and onto Blaine’s floor. A tall, dark haired man passes them; Burt doesn’t think anything of him because Carole is knocking lightly on Blaine’s door before going in.

“Blaine, sweetie,” she says, stepping inside. The lights are dim and Blaine is lying in the bed on his back.

“Hi,” Blaine greets them quietly. Burt is taken aback by how small Blaine looks in that moment. He’s not moving very much, and one eye is covered with a patch. Kurt moves to the edge of the bed and takes his hand. “Hey, you,” Blaine says to him.

“How are you?” Kurt asks.

“Better,” Blaine answers. “They gave me some medication and some eye drops.”

“And your eyes?” Kurt wants to know.

“The left eye is irritated, and I had some blurred vision but it’s getting better,” Blaine tells him. “The drops really helped.”

“And your right eye?” Burt interrupts, and Blaine turns his head to see him.

“Mr. Hummel, you didn’t have to come down here,” Blaine replies. “You shouldn’t have.”

“There’s nowhere else I’d be right now,” Burt says matter-of-factly. Blaine’s face kind of twists for a second, and Burt can tell he’s trying not to cry as he nods. What kind of parents Blaine must have, Burt doesn’t know. He hasn’t seen any sign of them.

“My right eye is not so good,” Blaine finally continues. “The doctor said the cornea’s scratched pretty badly and I’ll have to have surgery to fix it.”

“You’re kidding?” Kurt breathes out. “I’m going to kill Sebastian.”

“Kurt,” Blaine says with a warning in his tone.

“No, Blaine,” Kurt refuses to listen. “He deserves it. I can’t believe he brought the slushie, tampered with it, and was intending to throw it on someone.”

“Not just someone – you,” Blaine points out, and Burt grits his teeth. If he ever meets this Sebastian kid, heads will roll.

“And you had to play the hero,” Kurt teases Blaine, his anger fading a little.

“Did someone call your parents, sweetie?” Carole asks Blaine. Blaine sighs.

“My older brother Cooper is here,” he tells her. “You guys just missed him. He had to go straighten out some problems with the health insurance and get me some clothes and stuff - they’re keeping me until tomorrow for observation.”

They stay until Blaine falls asleep, Kurt kissing him gently before the three of them leave the room. “Can I do a half day tomorrow?” Kurt wants to know as they head out to the truck. “I’ll fill in everyone at school and talk to Blaine’s teachers and then come back here when he’s discharged, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, kiddo, that’s okay,” Burt agrees, and they head home.

*

Burt takes Kurt to school the next morning, concerned about him driving while exhausted, and Kurt doesn’t even complain, so Burt knows it’s the right move. He’s back to pick up a more defeated (if possible) Kurt after a few hours at the shop, and then driving them to the hospital.

“He’s gonna be okay, Kurt,” Burt says, breaking the silence.

“I know,” Kurt murmurs. “I keep hearing him scream every time I close my eyes. I was so scared, Dad.”

“I know,” Burt tells him, but he doesn’t know what else to say. What can he say?

They pull up in front of the hospital and park before going inside, and up to Blaine’s room. Blaine is once again alone, but this time the TV is on and Blaine is sort of listlessly watching it. He’s dressed in jeans and a polo shirt, which is about a casual as Blaine gets and Burt can’t help but bark out a laugh when he sees the pirate eye patch Blaine is wearing over his medical one.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Blaine asks, his face lighting up when he sees them.

“We came to help take you home,” Kurt replies, heading to Blaine’s beside and taking his hand. “Who’s picking you up?”

“My brother was supposed to, but he’s running late,” Blaine admits. “I’m just waiting till he gets here.”

“Tell you what,” Burt begins. “You call your brother, have him clear it with the hospital, and we’ll take you home.”

“Really?” Blaine smiles, and Burt can’t help but smiling in return. This kid is just dying for someone to love him, and for the millionth time, Burt is glad and he and Kurt found each other.

“Thank you,” Kurt mouths before turning his attention back to Blaine, berating hime about his choice of eye wear while helping him dial the number for his brother.

*

“Dad, are you sure you should be doing this?” Kurt asks as they help maneuver Blaine up the stairs to his bedroom.

“Kurt, you need to relax a little. I’m fine,” Burt huffs. He’s got Blaine’s left side and Kurt has Blaine’s right, which Kurt had insisted on since Blaine couldn’t see anything out of his right eye at the moment. It takes another few minutes, but they eventually get him up the stairs and into bed. Blaine settles back into his pillows as Kurt fusses over him – getting him an extra blanket, a drink, something to read, the remote to the TV. Burt’s never been to Blaine’s house before and it feels kind of tomb like. Blaine’s room seems to be the direct opposite of that – though Burt is baffled by the things in Blaine’s room. He sometimes wonders if Blaine was born in the wrong decade, and should actually be back in the fifties or something.

Burt sits down in the arm chair in the corner of the room as Kurt perches next to Blaine on the edge of the bed. “So then Artie goes on an entire rant about what happened to you, and Mr. Schue had no idea what to say, and then Artie rolled out in protest.”

“Wow,” Blaine replies, his left eye widening.

“Mike was upset too,” Kurt continues. “Finn and Rachel as well – she asked about you first thing.” Kurt leans over his bag, pulls out an envelope and hands it to Blaine. “They signed a card too.”

Blaine opens it with shaking fingers, Kurt having to help him just a little. Blaine moves the card to his left and closer to his face. “From all of us…” he reads off the front, squinting a little. He opens the card, and glances at it, and then looks teary again.

“Tell everyone I said thanks,” Blaine murmurs. Kurt nods, taking the card and putting it up on the bedside table on Blaine’s left, so he can see it.

They stay until Blaine falls asleep, making small talk. Burt tells a few stories about Kurt as a kid and gets a thrill out of embarrassing him.

They’re quiet on the ride home, but at one point Kurt leans over and puts his head on Burt’s shoulder. Burt glances at Kurt, and then smiles.

*

The next few days pass, and Burt makes sure to take time every few hours to check up on Blaine – he calls, they chat and Burt makes sure he doesn’t need anything.

Burt hates that he’s in the house alone (where are his parents? He wants to ask, but can’t figure out how to do it so it’s not awkward. The last thing he wants to do is make Blaine feel worse), and Burt worries about him. Someone should be there helping him to the bathroom and, God forbid, if Blaine tries the stairs.

It’s been almost three days since the accident when Burt stops home for lunch. He checks the mail on his way in, and dropping the bills in the basket Carole keeps on the hall table for such things, and then stops when he realizes he’s holding Kurt’s NYADA letter in his hands.
Lunch is forgotten as he takes the letter and runs out to his truck.

*

Burt can’t keep the huge grin off his face as he drives out to Blaine’s. Kurt’s a finalist, and Burt’s practically exploding with excitement. His first thought was that someone had to go tell Blaine.

There had been no one more supportive of Kurt’s dream than Blaine. Blaine had pushed him, encouraged him, and supported him. Burt hasn’t seen such devotion in a young couple before – even he and Kurt’s mother hadn’t had that kind of relationship. It was just one more way that Kurt continually surprised him.

He calls Blaine on the way, lets him know he’s coming. Blaine tells him that his brother found him a nurse to come out and help him when no one was home, so Burt can breathe a sigh of relief that Blaine won’t fall down the stairs because he’s home alone.

The nurse is a short, stocky woman with a pleasant expression, and she lets him in and directs him up to Blaine’s room.

Burt knocks on Blaine’s door and opens it after he hears the muffled “Come in.”

“Mr. Hummel, I told you didn’t have to worry about me,” Blaine says, surprised to see him. Burt smiles.

“Got some good news and I wanted to be the one to tell you,” Burt replies, and Blaine looks confused until he pulls out Kurt’s letter.

“Is that?” Blaine asks, pointing to it. Burt can barely control his happiness as he opens the letter, sitting in Blaine’s armchair again.

“Dear Mr. Hummel,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a finalist for the 2012-2013 school year. Further information will be forthcoming in regards to your final audition.” Burt reads, and Blaine claps his hands over his mouth. Burt can see a tear go down one cheek and he finds a tissue, handing it to Blaine.

“That’s amazing,” Blaine tells him. “Has Kurt seen that?”

“He’s over the moon,” Burt replies. He puts the letter on Blaine’s nightstand. “He’ll be here later,” he says.

“We’ll have to celebrate.” Blaine is still smiling.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Blaine answers. “My left eye is pretty much healed.”

“That’s good,” Burt agrees. “When’s your surgery?”

“In a couple of days,” Blaine tells him. “It was the soonest they could get me in.” Burt nods.

“Kurt and I will be there,” he speaks softly. Blaine looks touched.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Burt murmurs. “Oh, I thought you might be hungry, so I picked up a chocolate shake and some fries,” Burt holds out the bag he’d been carrying in his other hand, and Blaine takes it, fumbling awkwardly as he tries to feed himself. Burt doesn’t comment, letting Blaine work it out, thinking instead about the celebratory hamburger he’d indulged in on the driver over.

Blaine’s taking a drink of shake when Burt speaks again. “What are they doing about the boys that did this to you?”

“Nothing,” Blaine mutters, staring down at the blankets.

“Nothing?” Burt repeats surprised.

“Nope,” Blaine replies. “There’s no proof Sebastian tampered with the slushie, and even if we wanted to get him for assault, his father would just get him out of it anyway.”

“What about at least getting him kicked out of school?” Burt asks. “They have a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy.”

“There’s an investigation going on, but none of the Warblers are admitting to anything. We weren’t on school property, and it wasn’t a school sanctioned event.”

“That sucks,” Burt comments, looking at Blaine. “Those boys were your friends.” He nods, looking upset.

“Kurt’s too,” Blaine adds. “I don’t know how Sebastian convinced them that throwing a slushie at Kurt was a good idea.”

“And you pushed him out of the way,” Burt comments, and he and Blaine share a look.

“I’d do it again, too,” Blaine says, lifting his chin. That remark means the world to Burt, because his son has finally found someone who loves him unconditionally. Burt gathers his trash and gets up to leave. “Oh, can you send the nurse up? I need her to get me a few things.”

Burt agrees, and shows himself out after. He calls Carole on the way home and after she shrieks in excitement at the news, they plan a night out for Kurt to celebrate.

*

Kurt’s up bright and early the day of Blaine’s surgery, which is the first one of the day. He spends his time between getting ready and nagging Burt along. They pause just long enough to get a coffee on the way to Blaine’s room.

Kurt’s already talked to Blaine twice on the phone, and he knows exactly where to go once they get off the elevator. The tall, dark haired guy from the other day is down the hall and on the phone. Burt surmises that he’s Blaine’s older brother. At least someone from Blaine’s family is with him.

They go into Blaine’s room, and Blaine is wearing a hospital gown. There’s a nurse in there, and she’s taking Blaine’s eye patch off to look at his eye. Kurt tries not to look at it, but Burt can see that it’s swollen and bright red looking.

She replaces the eye patch with some gauze, taping it down lightly for easy removal in the operating room. Burt stands back as Kurt goes to Blaine’s side, and they talk quietly. Blaine looks terrified, and Kurt’s trying to calm him down, but Kurt’s not in much better shape.
When it’s time for Blaine to head down, Kurt kisses him quickly and gently, and then Blaine is wheeled out of the room. Burt puts his arm around Kurt, and steers him out of the room. They stand in the doorway and watch as Blaine’s brother pauses in his phone call and says something to Blaine, who nods. Then Blaine is taken past employee only doors.

“Come on, kiddo,” Burt says as Blaine’s brother resumes his phone call. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

The wait feels longer than it really is. Burt keeps Kurt distracted by asking what he’s going to perform for his NYADA audition. The surgery doesn’t take that long, and Blaine’s only in recovery for a little bit before being moved back to his room.

When he and Kurt get back upstairs, Blaine is once again alone. Burt sighs to himself. It’s kind of amazing that Blaine isn’t some kind of wild child begging for attention, for as little as he gets.

“How’d it go?” Burt wants to know, as Kurt takes his usual place at Blaine’s side.

“They said it went fine,” Blaine tells them. The poor boy looks exhausted. “I’ll have a follow up in a couple of days, and if everything goes okay, I’ll be back at school next week.”

“In time for Valentine’s Day?” Kurt asks, hopeful. Blaine’s face falls.

“I don’t know,” he answers, and Kurt sighs. “Maybe.”

Burt just watches, laughing occasionally as Kurt launches into a story about how there was a new Spanish teacher at McKinley now and Will Schuester was suddenly teaching history, and Blaine teases him about his obvious crush on the Spanish teacher.

“What?” Kurt replies, turning red. “You didn’t see him. He had tattoos, Blaine.”

“Am I going to have to get one now in order to compete?” Blaine teases, and Kurt laughs. Burt can’t look away – he’s never seen two people more in love.

“Don’t you dare,” Kurt orders, and Blaine laughs.

“Can’t you just see it? Your name in a heart on my shoulder.”

“Blaine, in one sentence you’ve managed to be cheesy, clich� and utterly ridiculous,” Kurt tells him, laughing.

“I do try,” Blaine agrees. Burt can’t help but smile at them. “So wait, if he’s the new Spanish teacher that means I’ll be in his class when I get back.”

“I’m not getting a tattoo, Blaine,” Kurt mumbles. “No matter how hot you think they are.”

Burt chokes on his laughter and the two boys join in after a second. “On that note, I’ll go check with the doctor and see when you’re busting out of here.” Burt’s still smiling when he steps out of the room.

*

Burt backs off the phone calls to just once a day after Blaine’s surgery. Kurt keeps him updated on Blaine’s progress, and Burt knows that it won’t be much longer before Blaine’s back at school and it’ll be like nothing ever happened.

It’s during one phone call that Blaine says something that gets Burt’s attention. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

Burt doesn’t even hesitate before replying, “Don’t sweat it, kiddo. You’re family.”