Burt Hummel lost his wife to someone texting and driving ten years into their marriage; she'd left him alone with their twin sons, Kurt and Carson, at just eight years old ("Eight and a quarter," they'd argue, "We're not babies.").

That would've been- well, not fine, obviously, but manageable at the very least, had Kurt not been in the car with her. He'd survived the accident- thank God- but he'd hit his head pretty hard and the force of the crash burst his ear drums. The doctors told Burt that it was unlikely that his son would ever regain his ability to hear.

Carson took it pretty hard.

"You mean he can't hear me anymore?" The sniffling boy had asked when Burt sat him down to explain what happened. "Momma is gone and Kurt can't hear me?"

Burt nodded gravely and opened his arms just in time for his son to fall forward in tears, desperate for comfort.

"I want my brother," he'd sobbed. "I want Momma."

"I know," Burt had told him with a lump the size of his fist lodged in his throat. "I do too."

They'd sat down as a family to discuss their options (Burt had written everything down for Kurt's benefit) and finally decided that sign language seemed like the way to go.

Kurt was stubborn at first and refused to learn any signs, under the impression that his deafness was only temporary. He'd adamantly opposed going to any kind of therapy, even when Carson tried to persuade him. That's when Burt knew it was time to put his foot down.

"Look, bud," he'd spoken normally so that Kurt could try his hand at lip reading, "I know this is hard. But you gotta work with us here, alright?"

"What?" Kurt asked, his brow furrowed in a combination of frustration and confusion.

"I said, 'you gotta work with us'," Burt repeated. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest at Kurt's unchanging expression. "C'mon, kid, I'll write it down."

Burt took his son's hand and led him into the den, only releasing him to hunt down a pen and some paper.

I need you to be strong. This is hard on all of us, but it won't get better until you start cooperating. Okay? He'd scribbled before sliding the page over to Kurt.

His son read over the words and let out a sigh that sounded far too heavy for an eight year old.

"Okay," he agreed, his voice only slightly too loud. Burt grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, already enthusiastic about learning ASL.

Once Kurt had gotten the hang of it, Carson was quick to follow. He went to the library to read books on the language every time Burt allowed him to and picked it up faster than anyone expected, going so far as to ask if he could join Kurt at his lessons sometime.

"I dunno, kid," Burt rubbed a hand over the top of his head, "Why don't you come next time and we'll see how it goes, alright? I'll shoot Ms. Helena an email tonight and see what she thinks."

"'kay," he'd agreed easily, happy to spend time with his brother.

The first lesson Carson attended was… interesting. As the only hearing kid, he'd felt a little left out, like all the other kids were part of some special club that he'd never understand. It was disheartening, but he stayed motivated throughout the entire class and managed to keep up with the rest of the kids.

"I'm impressed," the instructor pulled Burt aside at the end of the lesson. "Kurt seems to be fitting in seamlessly now that his brother has joined him. He hasn't been nearly this willing to participate in the past sessions."

"I guess Carson should keep tagging along then, huh."

"We certainly wouldn't be opposed to it, as long as he continues to be helpful and not a distraction," she'd agreed.

"I'll talk to him," Burt told her. "See what he thinks. I'm sure it'll be alright with him."

Carson wandered toward the bathroom door to wait for Kurt while his father was talking to Ms. Helena. One of the girls from the class approached him with a shy smile and he lifted his hand in an awkward half wave.

"My name's Maisy," she told him, her voice thick. She made a quick gesture with the letter 'm' to signify her sign name.

"Carson," he fingerspelled back.

"Hi Carson," Maisy let out a high pitched peal of giggles. She lifted her hands to say something more when the bathroom door opened and Kurt stepped out.

"Hi Maisy," he signed when he saw who Carson was talking to. "How are you?"

"Good," she signed. "I didn't know you had a-"

Carson missed the last sign and furrowed his brow with confusion until Maisy fingerspelled the word 'twin' for his benefit.

"Boys," Burt waved them over. "It's time to go."

"Bye Kurt, bye Carson," Maisy signed with a wide grin.

"See you next week," Kurt told her.

When they got home, Kurt immediately ran for his and Carson's shared bedroom. Carson moved to follow his twin, only to be stopped by his father's hand on his shoulder.

"I think it would be best to give him some space," Burt told him sadly. Carson removed himself from his father's grip and followed Kurt anyway.

The door was closed when he got there and Carson knew knocking would be useless. It wasn't like his brother could hear it. Instead of waiting for Kurt to come out, he decided to just open the door unannounced.

Kurt was curled up in his bed, facing the wall. Carson approached his twin as loudly as he could, hoping that the force of his steps would alert his brother of his presence. It seemed to work because Kurt suddenly sat up and looked at him with watery eyes.

"I don't want to be deaf," he sniffled. "I don't like it."

"I'm sorry," Carson signed, his heart breaking in his chest.

"I want mom," Kurt moaned before burying his face in his hands to hide his tears. "I miss her so much."

Carson didn't know what to say or how to say it, so instead he sat next to his twin on his bed and wrapped his arms around him. He hoped the tight grip of his hug communicated everything he meant it to: that he was sorry, that he loved him, that he would do anything he could to make this easier on him.

Kurt eventually tired himself out and Carson reluctantly released him, only for Kurt to whine helplessly and burrow deeper into his brother's arms.

That was how Burt found them a few minutes later: Kurt with tear streaks down his cheeks and unconscious in Carson's embrace. With a soft smile, he shut the light off and closed the door behind him, content to let the boys have an early night to bed.