"Mr and Mrs Anderson? It's Officer Wetly; we believe we may have tracked down your son."
Never before had the Anderson family felt such a swell of excitement yet a lingering shadow of fear fill their chests. Mrs Anderson, filled with joy, clutched at the phone, her voice wavering with anticipation.
"Are you sure, Mark? Are you sure it's really him? How is it possible? Please, please tell me you're sure!"
"We've had workers keeping an eye on any adoption agencies and two months ago a young boy was transferred to McKinley High from Dalton Academy. We're unsure why but we called the foster home and they've agreed to a meeting with all of us. Do you know where Oak Tree foster home is?"
Mr Anderson choked back a sob, his eyes welling at the realisation.
"That's-that's not even an hour away. He's, he's been there this whole time and we didn't know?" he whispered brokenly.
"Not necessarily. Look, just meet me there at two o'clock, okay? We'll clear things up."
As the phone dialled out, Cooper stood slowly from the couch, a look of determination dusting his handsome features.
"It has to be him. It just has to be! I, I can't take another fucking fake sighting or false adoption record! This has to be him, mom," he cried, burying his face into his mother's shoulder. Despite the fact Cooper was now a successful business man and nearing his 24th birthday, he couldn't help but feel the pang of regret and sorrow every time his brother was mentioned.
It had been eleven years – almost to the day, that Blaine had been snatched. So cruelly torn from everything he'd ever known. At just six years old, Blaine was promised he would never catch sight of his family again.
Two o'clock neared as the Anderson's car slowly parked in front of Oak Tree foster home. They could easily spot Officer Wetly's vehicle near the entrance.
"Whatever happens today," Mr Anderson began. "We'll get through this."
The foyer was bright and spacious, filled with paintings and thank you cards from children that had passed through here over the years. Mrs Anderson couldn't help but wonder if any of the messy paintings or cheap cards came from her son, but she didn't have time to glance over them as Officer Wetly came into view, an elderly woman shuffling behind him.
"Jack, Lucy," the officer nodded, smiling at Cooper as he shook their hands. "This is Betty O'Brian, she's one of the main social workers here. She says she knew your son very well."
She stepped forward, a worried expression worn over her wrinkles. Her grey locks were held up in a messy bun and she offered a kind smile.
"It's very nice to meet you. It's not very often we get to meet a foster child's real parents."
A few young children came rushing down the stairs, chasing one another through the foyer with laughter. Jack Anderson couldn't help but smile, wondering if his son had ever had the chance to run and play like these children.
"Why don't we step through to the office? I have your son's file ready."
They nodded, shuffling through to the small yet homely office. Jack and Lucy sat together, their hands immediately lacing together. Cooper sat beside them, fingers tapping at his knees while Mark stood beside Betty's desk.
"Here we go, Blaine Criss," she gestured, pulling out a thick file. Jack and Lucy frowned.
"Criss? His, his second name is Anderson. I don't understand," they panicked. Had this all been another false alarm? Just another lost boy that shared Blaine's name and looks?
"The man who took Blaine – Robert Criss, he changed Blaine's second name just a year after he'd taken him. They were in a different country at that point so I'm assuming the news hadn't travelled far," Mark explained.
"Let's see," she hummed, flicking through the crinkled pages. "Blaine joined us when he was nine years old. He was-are you sure this is appropriate? Some of things in this file are very disturbing…" Betty frowned.
"Please, we need to know," Cooper croaked.
"Right, okay. Okay. Like I said, Blaine joined us about two weeks after his ninth birthday. He was found, um, he was found lying at the side of the road. There'd been a terrible car accident, in which Robert Criss was killed. Blaine was injured but he managed to climb out of the car but he'd hit his head against the dashboard and passed out. He awoke in hospital and when questioned by the doctors, he wouldn't stop crying about his, his father. He kept crying that 'daddy was dead'."
"What!" Jack spat. "I'm his father! I, what did that sick fuck tell him?"
"Jack, please, calm down," Lucy winced.
"He spent two weeks in hospital recovering and then made the transition to here. He was very shy at first but very polite. He was always so sweet. He was an adorable child and had such amazing talents. He could play piano and guitar rather well and a lot of couples showed great interest in Blaine. I, I have photographs – if you want to see them. It was required that every year, the children update their photos. I have his from age nine to twelve, if you want to see them."
Mr and Mrs Anderson nodded their heads eagerly, watching as Betty slowly withdrew four small photographs. She slowly slid them across the desk, smiling sadly as Jack picked up the first photo. He didn't bother to stop the tears that bled over the edge of his lashes and stroked his cheeks. Lucy stared down at her son's grinning face. Cooper couldn't seem to tear his gaze from the photo of his twelve year old brother.
Blaine's hair was curly and wild, just tickling the top of his triangular eyebrows. His honey eyes were glistening with a youthful glow and his smile was bright and charming.
"Oh God," Cooper whined, placing the photo against the desk. "He's just how I imagined."
"My baby," Lucy whimpered, clutching the photograph to her chest. "C-can we keep these? Please?"
"I don't see why not," Betty shrugged. "We have them all on the computer. Blaine was only here for about two months before the first couple fostered him. A Mr and Mrs Blackwell. They kept him for just under a month but sent him back after he proved to be 'too much like hard work.' When I asked Blaine about what had happened, he just said they'd expected too much from him work wise and he'd collapsed and Mr Blackwell had told Blaine they didn't accept weak workers into their family. He was here another three months before the second couple fostered him, Mr and Mrs Armstrong. They'd already adopted five kids before Blaine, we've known them for a long time, they're really great. Sadly, their oldest son – not an adopted child, didn't take too kindly to Blaine and beat him up pretty bad. Mr and Mrs Armstrong wished they didn't have to send Blaine back, they loved him but they had to assure his safety, which we fully agreed on. Couple after couple came in and asked if Blaine would like an interview with them but for months, nearly a year, Blaine flat out refused. Eventually, when I asked why he didn't want to try and find a new home, he said he felt like this was home. After a few more weeks, Blaine finally started accepting interviews but every couple always sent him back – for various reasons. Until, finally, Blaine found a home. He was three days away from the three year mark and Mr Winters came in.
Blaine loved the man instantly and the bond between them was incredible. I'm sure this is hard to hear and I'm terribly sorry. We had the interviews and did the inspections and eventually Blaine moved in with Mr Winters. I've never seen the kid so happy. For the first few months it's mandatory that we keep constant tabs on the kids, after that, they're free to contact us if need be. Blaine would drop by every few weeks and sing and play his guitar for the little ones and have dinner with us. He'd constantly send me emails about how amazing Dalton was – that was the private school Mr Winters sent Blaine to after-after a rather nasty incident."
"What incident?" Cooper demanded.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to ask Blaine or Mr Winters the reasoning behind the attack as I'm not permitted to release any information Blaine has asked me not to. However, after a certain high school dance, Blaine was attacked by a few football players and was hospitalised. He was too scared to return to public school so Mr Winters wasted no time in enrolling Blaine at Dalton. He emailed me a few photos a couple of weeks after he joined…do you want to see?"
Another eager nod led Betty to her emails, flipping through the important names to find Blaine's address. She clicked open the flood of emails and found the photos attached.
"Here's a picture of Blaine and the Warblers, they're the schools glee club," she smiled, turning the screen slightly. Lucy and Jack didn't bother wiping the tears from their faces and they gazed upon their smiling son, surrounded by his friends. Cooper chuckled.
"He's tiny!"
"He's so handsome," Lucy choked, raising a hand to her mouth.
Betty clicked another picture, the colours swallowing the screen. The caption read "Hey Betty, I know you absolutely adore Kurt – as do I. So here we are enjoying the obviously hot weather! x"
"Who is that boy?" Jack inquired, pointing towards Kurt. He drank in his son's dazzling smile, both crushed and elated at how happy his missing son seemed.
"That's Kurt. Kurt is Blaine's …best friend. I've met him a few times when he's accompanied Blaine down here, he's lovely," she nodded, returning to her emails. A small ding emitted from the speakers, showing them she had a new email.
"I don't believe it!" she chuckled. "It's from Blaine."
"You mean he's just emailed you right now?" Cooper fussed, leaning forward in his chair.
"Yes, is it safe to open?" she questioned Mark, who shrugged.
"Sure, I don't see why not."
She clicked open the email, heart swelling as she read out the words.
"Hey Betty, hope you're doing okay. Sorry I didn't email last week, my move to McKinley was nothing short of stressful! But, I'm all settled in and everything's great Kurt's super excited to see you tomorrow, as am I and we hope you can still make it! I hope performing with the New Direction's feels as good as it does with the Warblers. Derek said he'd make it; too, I'm so excited! To make up for my lack of emails, here's a picture of me and Kurt, I know you love 'em! Haha, see you tomorrow. Lots of love, Blaine x"
She clicked the tab and the picture loaded.
Betty coughed awkwardly whilst Mark hummed out a small chuckle.
"He, that um, Kurt? He's more than just my brother's best friend, isn't he?" Cooper inquired. Betty nodded.
"Y-yes. I'm sorry. If I'd have known that was the picture I wouldn-"
"Don't you dare apologise," Jack whispered. "That," he pointed towards the screen. "That is my son. That is the son I've spent eleven years without and I do not care if he's gay, straight, bisexual, tall, short, fat, thin, I do not care. That is my boy and I'll love him no matter what. When, I mean, can we see him? Maybe meet up with him and Derek? I'm assuming that's his foster father, am I correct?"
"Yeah," Mark began. "Derek is Blaine's foster father but you have to think about Blaine, okay? I know you've spent the last eleven years searching for him, searching for answers and now it feels like you're finally getting them, but…Blaine, he, he won't necessarily just accept you as his father, okay? He's been gone eleven years. Three of those years were spent with a man who took him away from his real family, made him think he was his father. Another three of those years were spent shifting between foster homes and the last five years, he's spent living with his new father. He's suffered through a terrible attack, changed school twice and fallen in love. He's going to be confused, okay?" Mark sighed, he hated this area of his job. Breaking the reality of the situation to the parents always seemed to be the hardest thing to do.
"So, are you telling me Blaine won't know who we are?" Lucy sniffled.
"I'm just saying, he was six years old when he was taken and a lot has happened to the poor boy since then. So, I'm just making sure you understand he might not treat you as his real family just yet. To him, Derek's his real family."
"When can we see him?" Cooper pressed, finally seeing pictures of his brother, living, smiling, had made him more desperate than ever to contact him.
"Well, Betty was telling me just before that she was scheduled to visit Blaine tomorrow at his new school. He's competing in a show choir competition and he's invited Betty. That's what Blaine's last email was about. We contacted Derek this morning, just before we called you, and explained the situation. Derek was shocked and concerned but he understood how difficult this must be for you. He's agreed to allow you all to attend the competition on the promise that you'll make no brass movements while Blaine's there. The poor boy's been through enough, so he doesn't need any more fucking around, basically. Derek wants to meet with you beforehand. You know where McKinley is, right?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, be there for half six and we'll meet with Derek and then take our seats."
"What about afterwards? Can we see Blaine then?" Jack begged.
"We'll have to see, Jack. You know I want nothing more than for you all to reunite with the kid but things are different. If he'd have still been in Robert's possession, I could've done much more but I'm afraid I can't. My hands are tied for now."
After Betty had printed the pictures Blaine had sent her and handed them over to the Anderson family, they bid their goodbyes and shuffled toward their car. Mr Anderson sat silently, fingers choking the wheel.
"Lucy? Cooper?"
"Yeah?"
"We're going to see Blaine for the first time in eleven years tomorrow."
"Morning dad!" Blaine grinned, sitting himself down opposite his father. It didn't matter if Derek was his foster father, Blaine's real dad had thrown him out, didn't even want him and Derek did, that made him his dad.
"Morning son. Sleep well?" Derek fussed, sliding a plate of buttered toast across the table. Blaine stole two slices, taking a bite with a nod.
"Yeah, Kurt had me up pretty late on the phone, though. I swear he does it so I'm too tired to say no to him during the day!" Blaine chuckled, a blush dusting his cheeks.
"I bet he does! That boy is crazy over you! Excited for tonight?"
"Yes! I'm really nervous as well but I'm sure everything will be just fine."
"Blaine, Blaine I need to talk to you about something. Some of my …good friends will be joining me and Betty tonight, okay? I'd like you to, um, just say hello afterwards, is that alright?" Derek winced. He wasn't overly thrilled about the situation but he wasn't in a position to deny Blaine access to his real family, a family that had spent eleven years longing for him.
"Sure," he shrugged, standing and throwing his arms around Derek's shoulder. "I gotta go, Kurt will kill me if I'm late again! I'll see you tonight."
"You sure will, kiddo."
Blaine watched with a lazy smile as Kurt strutted along the hallway. He was positive Kurt was the love of his life and he'd do anything to protect him. He'd never seen anyone so beautiful. Kurt finally came to a stop at his locker, gracing Blaine with a gentle kiss on the cheek.
"You're early," Kurt hummed.
"Indeed I am. I'm the perfect boyfriend, Kurt, haven't I told you this before?" Blaine joked, helping Kurt with his books.
"Yeah, yeah. Ooh, I'm so excited for tonight! The competition is going to be fierce."
Derek Winters stood nervously outside McKinley's entrance, hands burrowed deep into his pockets. When he spotted a small family edging towards him, he swallowed the lump in his throat and plastered on a bright smile.
"Derek, my name is Mark Wetly. I'm the officer working closely with Blaine's case," the officer smiled and shook hands with the elder.
"Nice to meet you. You must be Mr and Mrs Anderson and Cooper, I presume?"
"Please, it's Jack and Lucy," Lucy smiled faintly. She truly appreciated what Derek was allowing them to do, however, she couldn't help but feel he'd taken away part of their child's life, stolen what could've been theirs.
"It's nice to meet you. Look, I understand this is a little awkward and uncomfortable but I needed to meet you beforehand. I understand that Blaine is your blood son but, but he's been my son for five years now and, and I really love him and care for him. I'm sorry if this is upsetting, I just needed to make sure you were safe, you know? I may only be his father through adoption, but that kid in there means the world to me," Derek sighed. He felt sorry for the Anderson's – but Blaine was his.
"I get where you're coming from," Cooper grunted. "But we've waited for this moment for eleven years. We saw a few photos of Blaine yesterday at Oak Tree, photos of him growing up, photos of him with Kurt…it made me that much more determined to just see Blaine in person. See him for myself, you know? If I'm feeling like that and I'm his brother, I can't even begin to imagine what my parents are going through but I respect what you've said. It's not like we're planning to drag him back home tonight, we just want to see him, maybe meet him?"
"I've warned Blaine that some of my 'close friends' are coming. I, I think it'd be good if I introduced you to Blaine after the competition but only as my friends. I don't think he's ready just yet. He's spent years thinking none of you wanted him, just throwing you back in his face might trigger something. So, let's just take it slow."
"Agreed," Mark said. "Let's get inside."
They quickly found their seats, just three rows from the front. Betty was already settled and wearing her warm hearted grin. As the lights dimmed and the announcer began speaking, Cooper took hold of his mother's hand as Lucy and Jack's fingers clutched together.
This was it.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, McKinley's own, New Directions!"
The curtains flew up, revealing a small gathering of children dressed in what seemed to be stylish gym clothing. As the beat began, the group broke apart, revealing a boy and a girl.
"Huh, after all you put me through; you think I'd despise you. But in the end, I wanna thank you, cause you made me that much stronger…"
Lucy's heart stopped. Jack's eyes were wide and glistening, Cooper's grip growing tighter.
"That's him," Lucy gushed. "That's our baby boy."
"Oh God," Jack choked, his free hand trembling over his lips.
They watched in awe and amazement as Blaine, their Blaine, moved slowly across the stage. From their seats, they could see his flickering eyes, his tensing muscles and gelled curls. Betty was watching with a sweet smile.
"Makes me that much stronger, makes me work a little bit harder!"
Cooper began to cry silently, large tears brushing through his lashes, dripping against his jeans.
"Thanks for makin' me, a fighter!"
All of the members swam together, their bodies moving effortlessly. They seemed so perfect. Blaine's muscular thighs were evident beneath his sweat pants, the tight vest outlining his toned stomach. Lucy's eyes were shining with pride as he spun and ducked effortlessly, a serious expression worn over his handsome features.
The song slowed down, Blaine lowering himself to his knees as the rest of the group danced and hummed behind him. As he sang, his vision flickered upwards to meet Cooper's, it stole his breath away. They kept their gazes mingled as Blaine clenched his fists.
"I am a fighter and I, I aint gon' stop! Yeah, there's no turning back, I've had enough!"
Two boys pulled him upwards, Blaine breaking their stare as he began to dance, a snarl on his face.
"Thought I would forget, ooh, I remember!"
As the song came to an end, Blaine disappeared into the shadows. Jack's chest was rising and falling with speed.
"He's-he's-oh my god!"
"He was amazing," Lucy cried. "He's, he's alive and here and god, Jack, this is amazing!"
"He looked straight at me," Cooper whispered, catching his mother's attention. "Mom, he looked straight at me and it, it felt like we'd never been apart!" he cried, hugging her close. "We have to get him back, mom, we have to."
The New Directions did two more numbers, the Anderson family not once taking their eyes from Blaine. He was slender and muscular and painfully handsome. Cooper wanted to pounce on stage, take his baby brother in his arms and never, ever let go. He was grown up, mature and talented. Cooper loved to sing but Blaine was incredible.
They suffered through two more acts before a break was signalled whilst the judges came to a decision. Lucy and Jack threw Derek a pleading glance and with a sigh he stood.
"Come on, Blaine will be back stage with Kurt."
They shuffled through the sea of buzzing performers before Derek was shifting forward.
"Blaine!" he called. The Anderson's froze as the startled boy spun on his heels, a bright smile smoothing over his lips. "Dad!"
It broke Jack's heart to hear his own son call another man that word. He tried his best not to show his heartache through his expression. He couldn't believe after eleven years, Blaine was within hugging distance. He was clutching a towel in his hands.
"Where's Kurt?" Derek inquired.
"He's talking with Finn. He better get his butt over here soon, though!" he chuckled, shifting his attention to the Anderson's. "Are these your friends, Dad?"
"Um, yes, yes they are. Blaine, this is Jack, Lucy, Cooper and Mark." Derek watched Blaine with careful eyes. Blaine threw his hand out, smiling as Jack took it lightly.
"Pleasure to meet you all. Did you enjoy the show?"
"You were amazing," Cooper complemented, biting back tears. His own little brother was introducing himself as though they'd never even met, as though Cooper hadn't changed his diapers and taken him the park to play a thousand times.
"Thanks, man!" Blaine blushed. He studied Cooper's face. He could've sworn he'd seen him somewhere. He was probably just exhausted from the performance.
"Blaine!" an excited voice called behind them. Said boy spun to see Kurt's smiling face.
"Kurt!" he chuckled, catching the taller boy as he pounced against him. He placed a gentle kiss against Kurt's lips as intertwined their fingers. "You okay, babe?"
"Yeah, aren't you going to introduce me?" Kurt nodded toward the small group of people watching them intently.
"Oh yeah! Um, they're really good friend's with my dad. Jack, Lucy, Cooper, Mark, this is my boyfriend, Kurt."
"Hi, it's lovely to meet you all."
Lucy was heartbroken. She'd missed so much of her son's life, and now here he was, calling another man dad, clutching tightly to a boyfriend she'd never met before. She'd never see him fuss about what to wear for a first date, never see him have his first sip of alcohol, never see him call her mom.
She'd missed so much, could she get it all back?