Disclaimer - I'm guessing that everyone is hoping this is another light-hearted romp like Jailhouse Rock. Sorry to disappoint, but this is a completely new universe and it's dark, people.

Oh, and the usual. Not mine, no profit. I'm sure you've all heard this a million times before.

Star Pupil - by BigDestiny

Burt knew that you weren't supposed to use your cell phone when you were driving, but he couldn't help but be drawn back to the text that Carole had left him fifteen minutes ago. 'Come home. Kurt needs his dad.'

Burt and Finn had gone out for pizza and a game, 'bonding'. Their third evening out since the Hummels and Hudsons had decided to give the blended family thing another go, and Finn was just starting to relax again in Burt's presence. Burt felt a little guilty about that. Although he meant everything he said about using THAT word, Finn had stood up to the boys bullying Kurt, proving Burt's initial impression of Finn had been correct. Which meant that it was Burt's responsibility to get Finn to trust him again.

So Carole wasn't likely to have texted for anything short of an emergency, Burt just didn't know what it could be. Nothing medical, or she'd have had him meet her at the hospital. Unless Kurt had been having trouble with more bullies and didn't want to get checked out. Burt sighed; Kurt was more than capable of taking care of himself. And yet time and again, he just refused to fight back. Understandable, but since Kurt came out Burt wanted a little more assurance that his son would be okay.

He wasn't getting that assurance from the police cars that were currently parked in front of his house.

"Oh my god," Finn breathed. He'd yanked his phone out of his pants in seconds and was texting like only a panicked teenager could. "Come ON, Mom," he snapped at the phone. Unnecessarily, given that they would be back at the house in a couple of seconds.

Finn was out of the car the second it stopped. But, in the time it took for Burt to shut off the engine and follow, Finn had only gotten a few feet before being stopped by the cops standing on the front sidewalk.

"This is a crime scene," One of them told Finn.

Finn was shaking his head, looking completely lost. "No. That isn't a crime scene, I live there."

Burt hurried up beside Finn. "My name's Burt Hummel. That's my house, officer. What's going on?"

Cops were used to giving people bad news, but this one couldn't quite restrain a wince as he said, "Home invasion. I'm afraid your son Kurt was home alone at the time."

"Oh, god," Burt moaned. He could hear Finn whimper a little.

"He's not hurt," The cop hurried to state. "We've taken his statement, and Mrs. Hummel is with him now." Burt and Finn ignored Carole being mistaken for 'Mrs. Hummel', and both sprinted for the door. The cop didn't try to stop them.

Burt's mind was on overdrive. Kurt was here alone? It didn't help at all that the cop had said Kurt hadn't been injured. There were other things that criminals that broke into their house could do to him….

Oh, god.

Finn's mind must have run through the same things that Burt's had, because the second they entered the house, it wasn't his mother that he was calling for. "Kurt? KURT!"

"Finn? Burt?" Carole rushed into the living room, and enveloped both of them in her arms. Her face was tight with restrained emotions, but she was refusing to break down. Burt had always known how strong she was; she'd have to be to raise a kid as awesome as Finn was by herself. But this, knowing that she'd seen what he was still afraid to see, this was showing her mettle all over.

Burt had a fleeting moment where he wanted to tell her how amazing she was, but the thought was swept up into the worry-wind in his head and was quickly torn apart. Just like everything else except for the one overwhelming concern: "Carole, what's going on? Where's Kurt?"

"In the back yard," she told him. "He needed some air."

"Is he okay?" Finn asked. "The cops said-"

"I know," Carole interrupted gently. "Sweetie, Kurt really needs his dad right now. Can you wait here, and come get us if the police need to talk to us?"

It was obvious that this wasn't good enough for Finn, but he nodded. "Yeah, I can do that." He sat down on the couch and tried to look calm. Tried not to look at how wrecked the living room was.

Burt wondered if the boy would ever be calm again. If any of them would.

Carole led the way, hurrying him past the kitchen. In the back of his mind, that seemed odd, but asking would have delayed him seeing Kurt and that just wasn't happening.

The back yard was heavily shaded, breezy, and typically a few degrees colder than the rest of the neighborhood. On a hot summer day that was a relief, but it was usually too cold in the evenings. Burt shivered. But as Kurt came into sight, slouched on the back steps, Burt could see that Kurt didn't seem to be moving at all. That was a bad sign.

Burt sat down next to his son, a look in Kurt's eyes confirmed Burt's guess. Kurt wasn't moving because he WOULDN'T move. The complete control over his emotions (that had only gotten stronger since he'd come out) wouldn't permit it.

Damnit, it was so hard for him to open up to Kurt. When Kurt was like this, it was even harder. "You okay? I mean- They didn't hurt you, right?" It didn't seem like it. Kurt looked his usual put together self. Outfit immaculate, not even a hair out of place. In the back of Burt's mind, this was adding up to something. He wasn't sure if it was shock stopping him from piecing it together, or just reluctance.

"They didn't touch me. I'm fine," Kurt confirmed, which didn't calm Burt at all. Even with Kurt's perfectly conversational tone, Burt could tell Kurt was trying to convince himself of that, rather than his father.

"Did you see who it was?" Burt asked. "Do the police know where they went?"

Carole must not have gone back in the house, because Burt heard her make a small choking noise.

Kurt's face didn't move, a pale, dignified counterpoint to the chaos inside. "Oh, they're in the kitchen." Burt's face must have darkened. He knew that he was about to stand up, when Kurt put out a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it dad," he said in that same scary tone, like he was telling Burt what had happened in Glee that day.

"They're not going anywhere; they're still pretty dead."

It should have been more of a surprise than it was. Is this what he was expecting to hear? If they hadn't hurt his boy, there could only have been one reason why. Burt sat back down and shivered again. From the cold, damnit. He wasn't scared of his son. "Oh."

Carole piped up again. "I talked to the police when they first got here. They know it was self defense."

"Of course it was." Kurt was still so calm; Burt would never guess Kurt even cared. If it weren't for the shattered look in his eyes. Eyes that couldn't look into anyone else's. "I think they were on drugs. They definitely wanted more money that they needed to replace that garbage they were wearing.

"They were going for the high end stuff. Laptops. TV. Me."

Burt's eyes went wide. "What?"

Burt watched as the first crack in Kurt's control spread across his face. "Apparently I would have gone for a lot wherever they were planning on taking me. As flattering as that was, I ran for the kitchen. I thought- Once I had the knives in my hands, I really thought that they'd take off."

Kurt was starting to shake now, and not from the cold. He looked up, almost into Burt's eyes, pleading for… What? "After what happened to Mom, I swore I'd never fight anyone again. But you didn't see them. The way they looked at me. Dad, I was so scared."

And Kurt was still scared. Of his father, for some crazy reason. That was more than enough to snap Burt back into action. "God, Kurt," Burt exclaimed. "No. Don't think for a second that I'm disappointed in you for doing what you had to do."

"They came at me. I didn't have time to even think," Kurt exclaimed, his voice unnaturally tight. "I just acted, the way mom taught me. They saw the knives! I know they saw them! WHY DIDN'T THEY STOP?"

Kurt started sobbing, and Burt pulled him into as tight an embrace as he thought Kurt could stand. Which wasn't quite close enough for Burt's comfort, but any tighter might freak out the boy. If they were on drugs, that would explain a lot. But Burt knew that no amount of explanations would make Kurt feel any better.

Burt knew that he was supposed to just comfort Kurt. Let his son feel what he was feeling. But Burt wanted more than anything to take that guilt away. He pulled Kurt's face up to meet his own, even though it left Kurt's eyes focused on Burt's chin. "It doesn't matter. Kurt, when I saw those cop cars, I thought somebody had beaten you up, and maybe- maybe raped you." Kurt flinched at the directness. "Or maybe you were dead. I thought I'd walk through the front door and find your-" Burt voice choked up, and he needed a second to calm himself.

Kurt raised a tentative hand, compassionately. Burt was disgusted by his own weakness, when his son was so brave. Brave enough to comfort, even now. "No. Kurt, I'm okay. Really. How many of them were there?"

Kurt's brow crinkled, confused. "Four."

"Four is good," Burt insisted. "Kurt I don't care if you have to kill a million men. If it keeps you safe, if it means I don't have to bury you, then I'm glad you did it."

It was the wrong thing to say. Kurt needed to know it, but it was still the wrong thing to say. "Dad, I killed someone," he gasped, horrified. "Four someones. They were people, and it was so easy."

"Believe me, fast don't mean easy," Burt assured his son. "The conversation I had with your grandmother lasted maybe 30 seconds. And that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

He thought that maybe THAT had helped a little bit. Kurt still looked like his heart was broken, but he did make eye contact again. "I wish Mom was here. No offense to you and Carole, I just-" Kurt broke off, guiltily.

"It's okay, I know what you mean," Burt told him. He felt the same way; although Kasha hadn't ever killed everyone, Burt was pretty sure she had a perspective Kurt needed right now. "Hey, if you want I could see if I could get a hold of old Bebe for you." He didn't want to see that icy bitch, but if it helped Kurt….

Kurt shuddered at the sound of his grandmother's name. "Please don't," he sighed.

Burt thought that just might be progress. "I wish I could take this pain away, son. But you're a good kid, and I think when you're a good kid this is going to hurt no matter what I do."

Kurt wiped his eyes, tried to reestablish his calm front. "Do the police know who they are yet?"

"I don't know," Carole admitted. "I can go ask."

"No, I'll do it." Kurt tried to stand on shaky legs, only to sit down again. "I have to know what their names are. I have to know who I-"

"Sit down." Burt insisted, when Kurt tried to stand again. "We'll find all that out soon enough."

Finn knocked at the back door. From the inside, and it surprised them all that he waited there until Carole opened the door. Finn lingered at the door, uncertain and rattled. "The cops are almost finished. Mom…. They said there's bodies…?"

"It's okay, Finn," Carole told him. "Just let them handle it."

Finn looked over at Kurt, seeming a little calmer just seeing him. "Kurt, buddy. Are you okay?"

It was an indicator of just how much Burt had helped him that Kurt actually seemed to think about his answer, instead of just automatically saying that he was. "Not really. If they don't need me for anything else, I could really use a bath."

Carole smiled sadly at him. "I'll make you a sandwich, if you'd like."

Kurt considered that, as well. "I guess. I don't feel like throwing up right now." He turned back to Burt, making a finally successful attempt at standing. "You'll ask the cops if…."

Burt nodded. "As soon as I know, you'll know."

Finn led Kurt back inside, Carole stopping at the door before she went in. She still looked like she wanted to fall apart, but she had a soft smile on her face. "You're an amazing man, Burt Hummel."

Burt shrugged. Knowing there was nothing more he could do, and hating it. "Can you get Kurt settled? I'll be in in a second."

Carole nodded and went back inside.

Burt looked up at the stars, remembering doing this with Kasha all those years ago. He'd meant what he'd said about being grateful. Kurt's mother may have taken too many risks with herself (that had come back to bite the surviving Hummels), she hadn't left anything to chance with their son. Kurt was in for a long period of self doubt and pain, but thanks to Kasha he was still alive.

They could deal with anything they had to as long as they still had that. At least Burt hoped that it would be enough.