Another speculation piece! Based on the promo for "Rumors," but no spoilers beyond that. Please don't tell me any real spoilers. I just like speculating. =)
"Thanks for helping me out again, Kurt. Quinn's good with kids and all, but…"
"It's awkward. I get it." Kurt smiled sadly, pulling some Tupperware containers from his bag. "I'm always here to help, Sam. I know what's it's like to be on your own."
"It's scary," Sam admitted quietly. "But it's worse because I have to be strong for Stevie and Stacy."
"I'm sorry." A peaceful silence fell between them, then Sam spoke.
"You know Finn thinks we're hooking up?"
Kurt chuckled. "Rachel said the same thing to me. I think they were staking out your motel room together after those rumors about you and Quinn got spread."
Sam pulled out some paper plates, helping Kurt spoon the pasta salad out in child-size portions. "He's a good brother, at any rate. Threatened to hurt me if I ruined what you had with Blaine." He laughed awkwardly, and Kurt just rolled his eyes.
"Oh, yes. I got a very upset phone call from Blaine during lunch. Apparently Rachel got to him." He took some cups and a pitcher of homemade lemonade. "I had to tell him about your…situation. I'm sorry, but I made him promise not to tell anyone – especially Rachel."
"It's okay," Sam said, leaning on the counter. "Blaine seems cool. And I don't actually want to come between you and your boyfriend. 'Cause you two are kinda sweet together."
Kurt blushed, smiling. "Thanks, Sam. Oh! You kids hungry?" Stevie and Stacy had just come in from playing on the balcony, and were both smiling at their brother and his friend.
"There's this couple fighting in the parking lot. It's really entertaining," Stacy said, flipping back her dark blonde hair. "The girl keeps shouting about 'infidelity' and 'loyalty to the group,' and the guy just looks really confused. I don't blame him."
Stevie giggled, motioning for Kurt to give him a piggyback ride. Kurt hoisted the little boy onto his back, then looked at Sam.
"You don't think…" They both headed for the door, followed by Stacy.
Sure enough, in the parking lot for all to hear, Finn and Rachel stood, screaming at each other. Well, Rachel was screaming. Finn mostly looked scared.
"Should we…?" Kurt asked. Stevie wrapped his arms tighter around the brunette's neck.
Sam groaned. "Might as well. Stacy, close the door, will you?"
The three Evans children and Kurt walked down the stairs and into the parking lot, amused at the sight in front of them. Kurt cleared his throat, setting Stevie down.
"Kurt! Sam!" Rachel squeaked, jumping a little. Finn almost looked relieved.
"Were you spying on us…again?" Kurt asked, eyes narrowing. "Because you're really bad at it."
"Well, I'm sorry that we're just concerned for our friends!" Rachel said defensively. "You two are making a huge mistake!"
"Do you…?" Finn looked at the younger Evans children. "Do you two have a secret family together? 'Cause Sam's only been here for a couple months and-"
Kurt buried his head in his hands. Sam blinked a couple of times. Stacy leaned towards her brother and whispered, "Are you gay?"
"I'm not gay!" Sam said, face burning. "And Kurt isn't cheating on Blaine!"
Rachel placed her hands on her hips, unconvinced. "Really, now?"
"Why are you in a skeezy motel, then?" Finn asked, frowning.
Sam ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Kurt, can you take Stevie and Stacy upstairs? It's time for dinner."
Kurt looked like he was going to argue, but he nodded reluctantly, scooping the younger boy onto his back and taking the preteen girl by the hand. As soon as they were out of earshot, Sam turned on the spies.
"Can't you mind your own damn business for once in your life?" He asked, infuriated. The last thing he needed right now was rumors about his sex life spreading around school.
"Excuse me?" Rachel looked offended; Finn looked guilty.
"If you really must know," Sam continued, hands balled in fists. "I'm living in a motel with my siblings because my father is an abusive jackass who couldn't deal with an alcoholic wife and three unplanned children who might not even be his."
"What?" Finn looked shocked and upset. Rachel's eyes grew wide.
"Yeah. My family life sucks. Big deal. Just stop spreading rumors about me; I don't need those right now."
"Sam, I'm so sorry." Tears were welling in Rachel's eyes. Finn nodded, looking heartbroken.
"Seriously, dude, I'm sorry…But why is Kurt here?"
Sam swallowed back tears of his own. "My mom is…M.I.A. She was home around three last night, really drunk, passed out on the floor. She was gone when I got back from school today…left a vague note, promising to be home 'soon.' Kurt's been helping me take care of Stacy and Stevie. I can't cook. And I have trouble helping Stacy with her homework and her 'boy issues' and Kurt's just really good at all of those things. And he knows…"
"Knows what?" Rachel asked, her voice small and shaking.
"He knows what it's like to be all alone. To lose almost everything in your life. To feel lost and scared."
A small sob erupted from Rachel's throat, and she threw her arms around Sam's waist, hugging him tight. He patted her shoulder awkwardly, then leaned into the touch.
Finn clapped him on the shoulder, looking so sad and guilty and upset that Sam felt his anger subside a little. He could see why Kurt liked his brother so much.
"Do…do you wanna come upstairs? Kurt made dinner. I think he even brought a thing of cookies that Stevie and Stacy might be willing to share…" Finn grinned; Rachel wiped at her bleary eyes.
"That would be lovely."
The three hiked up the stairs and walked down the balcony, entering the shabby motel room. Kurt was sitting on the ground, having a picnic of sorts with the two Evans kids.
"If Charlie was willing to carry your books to homeroom, I think he's a keeper, Stacy," Kurt said, taking a dainty sip of his lemonade. Stacy pouted.
"But he has weird acne! And Jeremy said 'hi' to me yesterday…"
"He's the one who looks like a young Orlando Bloom, right?" Kurt asked, quite seriously. Stacy nodded, chewing on a carrot. Stevie couldn't tell whether this conversation was riveting or stupid.
"Yeah! And he said 'hi' to me! Should I ask him out?" Stacy asked, leaning in towards Kurt. Kurt sighed.
"I think you should ask Charlie out, personally."
"What? Why him?"
Kurt clasped his hands together, settling them on his knee. "Because he's sweet and he obviously likes you. Don't you like him?"
Stacy looked torn. "Yeah, I mean, he's nice…but he has weird acne!"
"Then buy him some Proactive for his birthday or something! Look, as much of a fan of outer beauty as I am, you need to ask out the boy who you know will treat you right and like you for you."
"Wow," Finn said, interrupting. "I know who I'm going to for dating advice from now on."
"No dating until you're thirty, Stace," Sam said casually, picking up his plate of food from the counter.
"Not fair!" She cried. "You dated Quinn and you're not thirty!"
"Oh, what Sam doesn't know won't hurt him," Kurt whispered, winking at the girl. She grinned, biting off a piece of her carrot.
"So…Charlie?" She asked. Kurt nodded.
"Definitely."
Finn and Rachel looked around the room, taking in the shabby interior. There was one bed, neatly made, where they supposed all of the Evans children slept, a small desk littered with three grade-levels of homework, a tiny counter with a microwave, and a nasty-looking bathroom in the corner. On the floor were some ominous stains, and a cockroach scuttled into a corner.
"You can't raise kids here," Rachel whispered to Finn sadly. "This is horrible."
Finn looked over to where Sam sat down between his siblings, joining in on the conversation. Stevie was now explaining how he made a new friend at school with a Spiderman lunchbox, animated hand gestures and all.
"You should come live with us," Finn said suddenly. The room went silent. Sam blinked a couple of times.
"What?" He said, stunned. Kurt looked up at Finn, an odd look on his face.
"You can, if you want," Kurt said, nodding. "I asked my dad a couple days ago. He said it was okay. I just knew that you would want to keep it a secret as long as possible."
"But, there's three of us and-"
Finn held his hand up. "Dude, we have room. Well, a room. But we can share."
"Stacy is always welcome in my room. I can teach her the importance of late-night moisturizing," Kurt said, patting the girl's cheek. She grinned, looking up at her brother hopefully.
"And Burt and Mom kinda wanted more kids together…" Finn said softly. "But they're too old. They'd love to have you three around."
"I…can't intrude like that," Sam said, staring at his feet. "I don't want to burden anyone else with my problem."
Kurt touched the blonde's shoulder. "It's not just your problem, Sam. It's theirs, too." He pointed to Stacy and Stevie.
"It's dirty here," Rachel piped in, biting her lip. "And I'm pretty sure there's a man with a prostitute in the next room and the whole place smells like yuck."
Sam sighed, nodding his head. "Thank you, Kurt. Finn. It would mean the world if we could stay with you for a while."
Kurt stood, smiling happily. "Well, let's get you three packed and then we can move there tonight! Good thing it's Friday – we can stay up late and gossip all we want, Stacy. And Finn and Sam can teach Stevie how to play Halo."
Rachel grinned as the Evans and the Hudmels (Finn's invention, of course) raced around the room, packing up clothes and homework and toys and food. Stevie clutched his stuffed alien tightly, following Sam around the room excitedly. Stacy talked Kurt's ear off, letting him fold her clothes in an "appropriate fashion." Rachel cleaned away the remains of dinner, and Finn carried the bags down to Kurt's car.
Once everyone was piled in the car, Kurt and Sam lingered in the motel room, checking for anything they missed.
"Should I leave her a note?" Sam asked, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his jeans. Kurt nodded, handing him a pen.
Mom,
Took Stacy and Stevie. Staying with a friend. Call my cell when you decide to sober up.
Love,
Sam
"Isn't that a little harsh?" Kurt asked, reading over Sam's shoulder. Sam shrugged.
"Whatever. She ditches her kids in their time of need, we ditch her when she comes back drunk. Simple as that."
His tone was bitter and angry and so, so sad that Kurt pulled the boy into a tight hug, eyes stinging with unshed tears.
Sam hugged back, letting himself cry a little. He wasn't at school, or in glee club, or in the supermarket, or the locker room, or in front of his siblings. It was just him and Kurt – he could break down if he wanted to.
Kurt rubbed his back soothingly, shushing him quietly. "It's okay, Sam. You've been so strong. You can be sad, you know. You aren't alone anymore."
Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. They both looked up to see Finn standing there, smiling sadly.
"Dudes…" He said, tossing Kurt his car keys. "Let's go home."
Burt and Carole Hummel were a little shocked to see six people in their living room when they came home from dinner, but welcomed them nonetheless. Carole fell in love with Stevie immediately, saying he reminded her of a young Finn. Burt shook Sam's hand, telling him that anyone who would sport a black eye for his son was welcome in the Hummel-Hudson house (Sam flushed with embarrassment, unaware that Kurt had told his father about that incident).
Ten minutes into the ragtag welcome party, Blaine Anderson showed up on the doorstep, there to surprise Kurt after a long day of helping out the Evans kids. He blinked a couple times awkwardly when Stevie Evans opened the door, but smiled and launched into a conversation with him about his Superman t-shirt.
"None of you are sleeping tonight, are you?" Burt asked as Blaine joined the fray, hugging Rachel and kissing Kurt's cheek. They all shook their heads. "Alright, we'll be in our room. Keep the noise down."
Burt and Carole walked down the hall, turning into their room. Stevie's eyes drooped, and crawled into Blaine's arms. Blaine looked taken aback, but held the little blonde boy closely. Stacy leaned against Rachel's arm, losing energy just as quickly as her little brother.
"Let's tuck these two in, hmm?" Kurt said to Sam. Sam nodded, smiling.
"Let's put them both in the guest room for tonight. The rest of us can hang out in Kurt's room," Rachel said, rubbing Stacy's shoulder.
The group trudged upstairs, slowly and sleepily. Stacy was reluctant, and a little resistant, but they managed to convince her to go to sleep instead of staying up with the "big kids." Stevie was out immediately, curling against his sister like a baby monkey.
"Aww…" Rachel cooed, resting her head on Blaine's shoulder. "They're precious."
"I can hear you…" Stacy muttered, eyes fluttering close. "I'm not precious…"
Sam kissed both of them on the head, and the teenagers left them, filing across the hall into Kurt's room. Blaine jumped onto the bed happily, pulling Rachel down next to him. They curled under Kurt's many blankets, snuggling together.
Kurt followed suit, settling down in the middle of his King-sized bed. Sam and Finn looked unsure of where to go. Blaine sighed.
"Look, gay or not, cuddling is awesome. So get over here, straight boys!" That was all they needed. Finn jumped onto the bed next to Kurt, pulling Sam down between them.
Sam settled down uneasily, resting his head on Kurt's shoulder. Finn's head pillowed against his stomach, and the warmth of the bed relaxed him.
"What's going to happen to me now?" Sam asked quietly, biting his lip. "What are am I going to do? If Mom doesn't come home soon, where will we go? I can't let them go into the foster system, I can't let them go back to Dad's house…I can't raise them myself."
Kurt ran his fingers through Sam's hair, trying to comfort the boy. Blaine reached across and grabbed one of his hands. Rachel rubbed the back of that same hand, trying hard not to cry. Finn just buried his face deeper into Sam's stomach like an overgrown puppy.
"It'll all work out," Kurt said, voice quiet. "It will."
Sam smiled sadly, closing his eyes. "I hope so."
They all stopped talking then; there was nothing left to say. Blaine started humming something, and Rachel harmonized. Finn fell asleep on Sam, holding him like a stuffed animal. Kurt closed his eyes, surrounded by the simple sounds of his friends.
As they drifted off, one by one, Sam grew less and less anxious, relaxing into pile of bodies under the warm blankets. As he yawned sleepily, Kurt pecked his forehead, settling down for sleep himself.
"It's all gonna be alright." Sam smiled at him, barely awake. Kurt stifled a yawn, eyes drooping. "You're not alone. Not anymore."