AN: So, yes in this story Finn hasn't died and I wanted to explore his reaction to the events in "Bash". This is what I came up with, so I hope you enjoy it. The reference to the self-defense classes goes along with what I set up in my story "Not Your Fault". Would love to get feedback on the story!

Though he was receiving both annoyed and concerned stares from others in the room, Finn Hudson was oblivious to them. With hands stuffed in his letterman jacket from high school, the twenty-year-old University of Lima student, paced the waiting room in the New York City Hospital. Though he was missing several important school deadlines by being here, they were the last thing on his mind. As far as Finn was concerned, he would repeat the semester before not driving out here under the circumstances.

What was going through his mind, was that he had failed his brother. Once again, Kurt had to face the close minded people of this world on his own. In his guilt, he wondered if perhaps he should have found a way to stay in New York and then he would have been able to follow through with his promise to have Kurt's back. Maybe then Kurt would be with Blaine doing things that Finn really didn't want to think about too much instead of lying in a hospital bed.

But New York had always been Kurt and Rachel's dream, not his. Staying in Lima, and helping with the Glee Club and at Burt's garage, Finn had finally felt settled again. Maybe he wasn't going to change the world but he was at least doing something worthwhile with his life and not wandering lost while others chased their dreams.

And now that he knew what he wanted to do, couldn't he go to school in New York just as easily as in Lima. Teachers were needed everywhere. Couldn't he simply transfer to a school in the city because the fact was Kurt had needed him and he hadn't been there? None of them had been. What had Kurt been thinking taking on those two thugs alone?

Even as he asked the question in frustration, Finn knew the answer. Kurt had been doing what he had been doing for years - standing up to the bully's. Even back when it had been Puck and himself tossing Kurt in the dumpsters, there had been a hint of defiance in Kurt's attitude. He hadn't changed because of what was being done to him. Through everything, he had remained true to himself, gaining strength as he got older - emotional and physical strength. Kurt had been a leader at McKinley, inspiring and looking out for others like him who hadn't quite been ready to come out. Why would that have changed now that he was in New York?

Reaching a wall, Finn slowly turned, casting a glance in the direction his stepfather had gone not long ago. Burt had wanted to see Kurt alone, and as anxious as the older man had been, Finn wasn't going to deny him that no matter how much he wanted to see Kurt for himself. Not seeing any sign of his stepfather, Finn started walking back toward the opposite wall.

After four more turns, Finn finally spotted Burt walking back down the hallway. Breaking from his back and forth pacing, Finn headed toward the older man.

"How is he?" Finn asked, anxiously. Sure they had received a report already from the hospital and Blaine, but there was a nagging doubt in him that things were being downplayed because of the distance they'd had to travel.

"Well, he isn't going to win any beauty contests, but he's awake and alert," Burt reported, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. "He'll bounce back from this even stronger, though I wish it had never happened. I told him you were waiting to see him, so he's expecting you," his stepfather added, pointing over his shoulder with his left hand.

Finn nodded, and started to move past his stepfather when Burt spoke his name.

"Finn."

Finn paused and glanced back at Burt.

"He's banged up pretty good. It was hard for me to see him like that. I just wanted to give you a head's up."

Finn nodded, not sure what to say in reply to that statement, though he appreciated the warning. As Burt headed for the waiting area that Finn had just vacated Finn walked down the hallway to the room, Kurt was in.

Reaching the door, he slowly pushed it open. As Kurt was currently the only one occupying the room, it was easy for Finn to spot him. One look at him, and Finn felt himself cringing. He only hoped that the reaction was visible to his stepbrother. The fact that Finn knew the lengths that Kurt went through to take care of his skin, only made the cuts and bruises that much difficult to take.

"If you're going to yell and tell me what I did was stupid, I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything right now. I'm not really up to going through that again," Kurt said quietly, breaking the silence in the room.

Finn didn't have to guess at the meaning of the words, having listened to Burt's tirade about 'what the hell was Kurt thinking', on the drive out from Ohio. He could also hear the stress in his stepbrother's words, and all thoughts of joining in with the feelings he shared with Burt vanished. Kurt didn't need his incrimination, just his support.

"He does love you, Kurt, but he's just worried," Finn replied, defending his stepfather. "Getting the call that you were in the hospital really scared. He's not really angry, just at a loss for what to do to protect you."

"I know but he can't protect me my entire life."

"It won't stop him from trying," Finn told him, still standing just inside the doorway. For some reason, he couldn't make himself step closer to the bed.

"And neither can you."

"What?" Finn asked, surprised by his stepbrother's choice of words.

"I can see the guilt on your face, Finn. This wasn't your fault and unless you have plans to become my twenty-four-hour shadow, there is no way you could have stopped this from happening."

"That might not be such a bad idea," Finn muttered, looking down at his feet. At some point one of his shoelaces had come untied but he didn't bother doing anything about it right now.

"Blaine might have an issue with that arrangement," Kurt said lightly.

Despite the situation, Finn found himself smiling at Kurt's words. His stepbrother's attempt at lightening up the situation somehow did more to set him at ease than any of the assurances from the doctor's that he was going to be okay had.

"Yeah, he probably would," Finn admitted, finally moving away from the door and toward the bed. "Although, I feel like this was my fault. Not only wasn't I here to have your back but maybe if I hadn't insisted on those self-defense classes our senior year, you wouldn't have gotten the notion to go be the Karate Kid."

"Or I could have been hurt worse if I hadn't taken those classes," Kurt countered. "I did manage to get in a few hits," he added, holding up his bruised and scraped knuckles. "Besides, this wasn't the first time I stood up to bullies. I confronted Karofsky long before the defense classes and before I had a brother on my side." Kurt paused a moment before continuing. "Although, come to think of it, that didn't turn out that great either. Although, at least this time I don't have a death threat lingering over my head."

Standing at the bedside, his hands once again stuffed in the pockets of his letterman jacket, Finn refrained from trying to insist this situation was different, because it really wasn't. Karofsky's death threat during their junior year had taken a physical and emotional toll on Kurt even if it hadn't landed him in the hospital. Apparently, not much had changed except that this time Kurt had been standing up for not only the other guy who was being beat up, but for the right to live his life as he chose too. A fight that Kurt had been fighting before the two of them were even friends.

Looking at his stepbrother, Finn saw a different person than Kurt had been when they started high school, and it wasn't the cuts and bruises either. Back in their freshman year, Kurt had been the shy, timid, boy whom he and his friends had harassed and tossed in the dumpster. He could still remember the way Kurt had walked away from those encounters with his head held high in defiance but he hadn't been vocal about it. Nor would he admit he was gay, though most people just assumed it. Then during their sophomore year, Kurt had finally started admitting who he was, and his defiance against those who were against him because of that just grew. It was like admitting who he was had given him the confidence to be that person. Finn still remembered the surprise he had felt the first time Kurt had yelled at him, and for good reason. Then Karofsky's death threat had come to light, and suddenly just not being a part of the harassment wasn't enough any longer. It wasn't fair that someone like Kurt had to live in fear for just being who they were. Suddenly, he felt a desire to protect Kurt. To try to make things better for him. To see him find the happiness that Kurt so clearly deserved.

Finn wasn't sure how well he had done with that feat, but he had tried. He had tried to be supportive while Kurt was away at Dalton, at least after his initial surprise at the decision. When Kurt had come back to McKinley, he had openly shown his support in front of their peers, as well as tried to protect him in the hallways. Anytime he had overheard something derogatory said about his stepbrother, he had spoken up. He had kept an eye at for people given him a rough time in the hallways. He could still remember Kurt's lighthearted comment following the first time he had backed him up upon Kurt's return to McKinley - "Looks like I've got my very own Superman to protect me."

"I guess you don't need Superman anymore, huh?" Finn commented, realizing how independent his stepbrother had become.

"I'll always welcome Superman's protection, but I don't want you to stop living your own life because of me," Kurt replied.

"I'm glad to hear that, because I plan on looking into transferring to a school here in New York for next semester."

"You don't have to do that," Kurt protested.

"I know, I don't have to but I want to," Finn told him. "What happened has made me realize that just because the law might be swinging in your favor, the fight is long from over. I want to be here with you to help you, Blaine, Elliot, and whoever else I may come to know, in that fight. I can be a teacher anywhere, Kurt, so why not here. There's more to New York City than Broadway."

Kurt offered a weak smile, though his face protested the expression. "As long as you don't give up your dreams, I'd be happy to have Superman in my corner again," he told his stepbrother.

Slipping off his letterman jacket, Finn stepped closer to the bed. Carefully, he got the jacket around Kurt's shoulders.

"I want you to hang onto that for now," Finn told him. "It's my promise to you that I'm coming back to the city to stay this time. When that times come, you can return it."

Kurt tilted his head so that the side of his chin brushed against the collar of the jacket. The feel of the material against his skin seemed to convey to him that everything was going to be okay, because to him, the jacket symbolized Finn. Somewhere along the way, he had started feeling safe when Finn was around. Ironic in a way, seeing as Finn had helped tossed him in a dumpster on more than once occasion. But then if Finn could change, then so could other people.

"We may have to come up with another hero reference though," Finn commented, sitting down on the edge o the bed.

"Oh?"

"Superman never had a sidekick, and if this incident is any indication, I'm going to. You know, I've always been partial to Batman myself. All of his gadgets are kind of cool."

"I guess I could deal with being Robin," Kurt replied thoughtfully, touched that his brother was thinking of him as an ally now rather than just someone that he had to protect. Tthough in his heart, Kurt knew that Finn would always be Superman to him.