The two boys stood in silence in the chilly, late-autumn air, hand in hand. One boy had a solitary tear rolling down his flushed cheek, the other traced comforting circles on the back of his hand.

Kurt broke the silence. "I really miss her." He brushed the moisture off of his face with his free hand. "I miss her so much."

Blaine wanted to take his boyfriend in a tight embrace, tell him he understood, and that it would be okay. But he couldn't. Blaine had never gone through the pain of losing a parent, he wouldn't belittle Kurt's feelings by saying he knew how he felt. He remained silent, but nudged Kurt's shoulder with his own to assure him he was there for him. It meant a lot to Blaine that Kurt had asked him to accompany him to his mom's grave on her birthday, and he wasn't going to screw it up by talking too much.

Kurt removed his hand from Blaine's and knelt down beside the small but elegant tombstone, laying down the flowers he had brought with him. His hand reached out to touch the cold slab but it hesitated, as Kurt looked back at Blaine. "C-Could you give us a minute, please? Not too far," he added hastily. "I just want to talk to her."

Blaine nodded in understanding and walked back a few paces to stand under a large, barren tree. He was close enough that he could still see Kurt, but far enough away that he could not make out what he was saying. He stood and watched, wishing there was something he could do to ease his boyfriend's pain.

Kurt took a deep breath and reached his hand out again, rubbing his fingers against the impressions in the stone that spelled out his mother's name. Elizabeth Lynne Hummel – 1972-2002 – Loving wife and mother. He rested his hand on top of the marker. "Hey mom. Happy Birthday." He was silent again as he tried to picture her; bright blue eyes, fine dirty-blonde hair, wide smile. "This year had been pretty good for me. Glee club made it to Nationals. We didn't win, but we probably would have if it wasn't for Finn and Rachel." Even though Kurt had been pretty disappointed at the time, he still smiled at the memory. "Finn... remember me telling you about Finn last year? How I thought I was in love with him? Well... Finn is my stepbrother now." He laughed at himself. "Funny how things work out like that, huh? Yeah, dad... dad got remarried. She's really nice, Carole. You would like her." Kurt took another deep breath; he had saved the best news for last. "I met a boy, mom. He's really special." Kurt glanced up at Blaine, who was watching him, and smiled. He imagined how excited she would get, demanding that Kurt tell her everything. His father was dealing exceptionally well with their relationship, in Kurt's opinion, but they operated on a strict don't ask, don't tell policy. Kurt sometimes just wished he could talk to a parent about his relationship, like Finn did all the time. "He is so sweet, he's a really incredible singer, he has the most amazing curly hair, he's... he's just perfect, mom. I am in love with him, I'm sure of it this time. Would you like to meet him?" He looked up at Blaine again and waved him over. When he reached the grave, though, Kurt suddenly felt silly. Blaine wouldn't want to meet his dead mom. He probably already thought Kurt was insane for talking to a tombstone, and now he was going to ask Blaine to talk to the tombstone of someone he'd never met? This was a stupid idea.

Blaine saw the indecision on Kurt's face before he looked away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, we can go now." Kurt started to stand up, but sank back down when Blaine put a hand on his back and knelt down beside him.

Blaine thought he might have an idea what it was that Kurt suddenly didn't want to say; he could tell how important this communication was to him. He reached his other hand out and set it next to Kurt's on the grave marker. "Hi Mrs. Hummel. I'm Blaine."

Both boys were silent for a moment, then Kurt moved his hand slightly so that his last two fingers covered Blaine's. "She would want you to call her Elizabeth," he whispered.

"Elizabeth... It's my pleasure. Your son is amazing; you and Burt did a fantastic job of raising him. He's strong, and smart, and caring; Kurt inspires me every day. He's probably going to graduate with straight A's you know—"

Kurt snatched his hand away from the rock and clutched it to his chest, letting a soft groan escape his lips.

"Kurt, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Blaine turned his boyfriend's face towards him and saw sharp pain in the striking blue eyes. "I'm so sorry." He knew he should have kept quiet. He always had to go and screw things up, didn't he? As if he wasn't hurting enough already, Blaine went and said something to make it worse.

"It's-It's just that... sh-she... my mom won't get to see me graduate." A steady stream of tears was leaking from Kurt's eyes, and he sniffed loudly. "She won't be at our—m-my... my wedding." Oh God. Blaine didn't catch that, did he? "She won't get to meet my k-k-kids." He buried his face into Blaine's chest, and the shorter boy scooped him half into his lap and rocked him gently.

"Kurt, baby, I'm so sorry," Blaine repeated. "Listen-hey, hey, listen to me." He was stroking Kurt's hair—which he knew Kurt would complain about later—and swaying back and forth. "Kurt, your mom will be there. She'll see all of it. Wherever she is, I can guarantee you that she is watching over you, and she wouldn't miss it for the world."

"You really think so?" Kurt asked in a small voice, sniffing into Blaine's jacket.

"Absolutely. And you know what else? She would be so proud of you, Kurt." A sob shook the crying boy's shoulders and Blaine rubbed soothing circles on his back. They sat like that until Kurt stopped crying and stated shaking from the frostiness in the air. "Come on, you're going to get sick," said Blaine as he stood up, bringing Kurt with him.

Kurt nodded and wiped away the remaining tears and made an attempt to straighten his hair. "Bye, mom." He waved at the grave as Blaine took his hand and lead him away. "Blaine..."

"Yeah, babe?"

"My mom would have loved you."