Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 50th cycle. Now cycle 51!

"Guard at Heart"
Rachel & Blaine, Kurt, Klaine

A/N: This week is dedicated to dear chazzaf for her birthday.
She asked for a 'Rachel week' and that is what she shall get!
Today Rachel and... Blaine [as a friendship]

She'd missed the call when it came in, but later she had seen it on her screen. She wasn't sure what made her do it but she kept it to herself while she was still with Kurt. She could have told him about his boyfriend calling her, but she had a feeling, which would later be proven correct, that he was calling to talk to her alone.

So at one time, while Kurt had scurried off to the bathroom, she had pulled out her phone and called Blaine. "Hey… Is everything alright?" she kept an eye out, even knowing she should have a few minutes before Kurt returned.

"Rachel, hi…" he answered, and catching his hesitation, she knew he was trying to suss something out without breaking a surprise, and she smiled.

"It's okay, Kurt's already here. He's in the bathroom," she explained.

"Okay, good," he breathed."

"Did you want to make sure he got here?"

"No, he already called to let me know he landed safely. I wanted to talk to you actually."

"Yeah, I kind of figured," she nodded. "Are you okay? Can't imagine it was easy to let him go, I mean I…" She paused, the thought of Finn and that moment before he'd put her on the train coming to knock her for a beat.

"I already miss him and he's only been gone less than a day," Blaine admitted, and Rachel really did feel for him. "But he belongs over there, in New York, with you," he said the words he truly did believe, no matter how much fear and sadness she could feel tried to cancel that out.

"You'll be with us in a matter of months," she tried to sound encouraging, though the amount of success was hard to measure on a phone.

"I know," he breathed out, then after a pause, "So the reason I called is… I have a favor to ask you."

"Okay?" she frowned, unsure where this was headed, though part of her did feel she knew.

"I know that you're new in the city, too, and you have your classes at NYADA, but… Will you look out for him? For me?" She smiled to herself.

"Of course I will," she promised. "He's my best friend. I'm not going to leave him hanging no matter what happens, I…"

"Rachel!" Her head snapped up and she just slipped her phone right in her pocket before he could see it. She waited as she watched Kurt dash up to her, startled when he caught on to her arms. "Come with me…" he told her, and he looked so excited she let him drag her along. She wasn't sure how long it took her to realize her phone was still on, but when she did she couldn't do anything about it.

"Where are we going?" she asked, laughing as he just kept pulling her.

"You'll see," he told her in a tone that translated into 'be patient, you.'

"You didn't buy tickets from the guy who sold me those fake tickets last year, did you?" she called after him.

"After watching you sanitize your credit card in the hotel bathroom for an hour, never," he told her.

"What is it t… Right, I'll see," she simply nodded when he looked at her. They bypassed the bathroom she had watched him head into before, and she could see the progress of store windows that would have dragged him away, until he stopped and she bumped into his arm. "What…"

"There, look," he pointed into the restaurant window. She followed his directions, frowning, squinting.

"What am I looking at?" she shook her head, searching.

"Okay, I don't know for sure, she hasn't turned around completely yet, but…" he pointed again, more insistent, and she breathed out, trying again. "There…" She paused, finding who he was indicating now, and attempting to scrutinize what she could see of the woman from the back.

"I'm not… I don't know…"

"If you can tell from the back, too…" he pointed out.

"That doesn't mean…" she paused, seeing like Kurt that the woman was turning, and they let out a disappointed sigh at the same time.

"Alright, fine, I got it wrong. But it was fun for a while," he smiled at her, and she laughed. "I'll go get us something to eat, and then I need to see your dorm… if your roommate isn't receiving," he spoke dramatically.

"Don't remind me," she pinched her eyes closed. When he was gone, she suddenly remembered Blaine and dug her phone out of her pocket. The call was still connected. "Sorry, I'm so sorry, Kurt came back and I just panicked and…"

"It's okay…" he told her with a small laugh, and she could just imagine the smile on his face back in Lima.

"Did you hear all that?" she asked.

"I did… thanks," he told her, even if it had been an accident… He could hear how happy Kurt had sounded. "So who did he think he'd seen?"

"Oh, I'm sure he'll tell you, might as well leave some surprise."

"Right…" he told her. "He's going to be okay, I know…" he was letting her know he knew.

"He will be. I'll make sure, for the both of us," she told him. "I should go before he comes back and I have to put you in my pocket again," she explained.

"Got it, and…"

"I won't tell him, I promise," she smiled. After they'd hung up, she let out a breath, putting her phone in her pocket. Soon after, Kurt had his arm around her shoulders and he handed her a pretzel as they walked off back to NYADA.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!