Blaine smiled as he heard Kurt's ringtone blasting from his phone as he sat backstage getting his make-up on. "Hello sweetheart" he said, a smile spreading across his face.

"Hey Blaine!" Kurt's voice was only slightly audible and sounded flustered amidst the background commotion on the other line. "I'm just heading through security now, but the plane should be on time tonight."

"Excellent" Blaine said "but I'm sorry I can't come pick you up, this last dress rehearsal has to be perfect, or I swear Brian will have our heads." It was true. Wicked was premiering the following night, and Blaine had landed the role of Fiyero. Brian, their director, was very…passionate…..with a slight emphasis on perfectionism.

"Don't worry about it, Blaine" Kurt said happily. "I'll see you when you get home, and then I can tell you all about the convention! I mean seriously Blaine; you should have seen some of the outfits people had designed. I thought you had to have talent to be in this business" he huffed.

Blaine smiled as he thought about Kurt's conference in Chicago that was going to debut his new clothing line. "Anything's drab when compared to you, honey" Blaine replied cheesily. "I can't wait to hear all about it."

"Good." Kurt replied, and then Blaine heard a frustrated sigh. "God this line is long. Alright, let's hope I still make my plane! Love you! See you soon!"

"Love you too" Blaine said before hanging up the phone.

Blaine sighed as he watched Brian in the audience. He still doesn't like it, he thought, we'll be here forever. Kurt's flight is landing soon, why can't he just let me leave? Blaine was preparing to make his entrance in the 4th act when a very flustered, red-faced, and hysterical Rachel Berry burst through the doors of the theatre. Everyone on stage stopped, and Blaine watched as Brian's face changed from annoyed to horrified, and finally to deeply grave as he looked at Blaine, then back at Rachel and nodded. Rachel began walking towards the stage, and Blaine went to meet her.

"Rachel, what's the matter? What the hell are you doing here?" He knew that she lived only a few blocks from him and Kurt, but she should be busy at her own rehearsal for Le Mis.

Rachel just shook her head, her eyes puffy as if she had been crying. "Blaine…" she said, "We have….we have to….to go. Now. Come on." She pulled on his arm but Blaine shrugged her off.

"Look Rachel," he said, extremely annoyed now, "what is so important that you have to stop rehearsal? I have to go meet Kurt at the airport and the sooner we finish here, the faster I can see him."

Rachel just shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. "No, Blaine…..we…we have to go."

"Rachel!" Blaine yelled "I don't have time for this right now! I'm sure whatever it is can just wait until after I pick Kurt up. He'll be landing any minute!"

"Blaine…." She choked out, the tears falling freely now, "You….you can't…..get Kurt…."

Blaine's breath caught in his throat and his eyes filled with worry. "What happened?" he whispered softly. When she didn't answer he grabbed her by the shoulders. "Rachel! What. Happened?" he yelled, all of the other actors watching the two nervously.

Rachel mumbled something and then took a shaky breath before saying "His plane…crashed." The rest of the cast gasped and looked up at Blaine. All of the color had drained from his face and he staggered away from Rachel.

"No." he said. Then he repeated himself, growing louder. "No. NO!" He stormed back stage, everyone following him, and he went into the dressing area. He switched on the TV and changed to the local news station. "No, Blaine! Don't!" Rachel called, but it was too late. He heard a collective gasp behind him. On the screen was a plane on fire in the middle of a field.

Blaine found himself lying on his couch in the living room. What happened? He thought. He glanced at the clock and saw that it said 8:15 PM. Wait, I'm supposed to be at rehearsal…..Shit Brain's gonna be pissed…..and then the memories came flooding back to him. Rachel bursting into rehearsal, someone driving him back to his apartment, crying on the couch, the plane… No, it was a dream. All a dream. He said to himself. All I have to do is call Kurt, he'll have landed by now, and then I can go pick him up from the airport…..yea. And with that Blaine called Kurt, only to get his answering machine. "No." Blaine begged to the empty apartment. He flipped on the TV, and every channel had a picture of the plane. In some it was burning, in some the fire was put out. They all said the same thing "NO KNOWN SURVIVORS". "No!" Blaine collapsed into their dining room table, slamming his fist down and putting his face in his hands. "No…..Kurt…." he gasped as the tears began to fall. In the background he thought he heard a song playing, but when he looked up he only saw the reporter talking about how the crash happened. Blaine felt himself moving towards the screen. "And apparently, the safety check was performed inadequately on this plane. Had the workers not been in such a rush this evening, the chances of this crash would have been extremely slim." Blaine turned off the TV, his head reeling. He ran to the bathroom and emptied the contents of his stomach, and then collapsed onto his bed, the tears continuing to pour from his eyes. That stupid pilot….all he had to do was a simple safety check. Was he even licensed? IT WAS A GOD DAMN SAFETY CHECK! WHAT WAS HE IN SUCH A HURRY TO GET HERE FOR? Blaine cursed under his breath, his hands balling up and gripping the bed sheets so tight they would be permanently wrinkled. And now Kurt's…..he…..Kurt…and Blaine couldn't even fathom the phrase, but instead broke down harder. He grabbed Kurt's pillow that still had his scent and sobbed for what seemed like hours.

Blaine didn't remember falling asleep, but he thought he heard someone calling his name softly, effectively waking him up. He looked up at the intruder and his heart broke, his eyes filling with tears he didn't know he still had. There, sitting in front of him, was Kurt….no you idiot, it's not Kurt Blaine reminded himself. He….he…he was on a….a plane….and….then…and then he…..he….. The tears started pouring down his face and Blaine saw the fake Kurt's eyes swimming with concern. "Why….why are you doing this…..to me?" Blaine asked, Kurt looking even more confused. "Why? This…..it makes it….makes it harder…..to accept…ac-accept it. What, are you j-just gonna come to al-all of my dreams now? What do you want me to do!" Blaine shouted and he saw the dream Kurt jump. "Blaine…." The dream-Kurt said softly, "I-" "No!" Blaine shouted, looking up at the dream-Kurt, his face extremely red. "Now you have to talk, too? I thought it was going to be bad just seeing you, now I have to remember your voice forever? If you're going to be gone, then why can't you just leave? You're making it so much harder to forget!" Blaine collapsed back onto the bed, sobbing. "Blaine….what do you mean?" the dream-Kurt asked. "Like you don't know" Blaine sighed, but lifted his head up anyway. "You….you're…..you….." his face paled, but he swallowed and said, "you're dead!" then he fled to the bathroom where he dry-heaved until the remaining fluid left his body and Blaine didn't even bother getting up as he sat on the tiled floor and continued to cry his eyes out, not noticing his intruder leave.

Burt Hummel was looking over paperwork for the shop when the phone rang. He smiled when he saw who it was, and his face lit up immediately. "Hey bud, how's it going? Did your trip go well?"

"Um….yea…." Burt knew something was up. Kurt's voice sounded hollow, like he wasn't even there.

"Kurt? What's the matter? Are you alright? Did Blaine do something?" Burt's voice was controlled, but it was far from calm.

"Well….no…but….dad, he told me…he was crying when I walked in…and then he said that….he said that I was dead, and then he threw-up in the bathroom. What's going on?" Burt could hear Kurt crying now, but he was just as dumbstruck as his first son.

"Wait….he….what?" Why would Blaine think Kurt was dead? "Nothing happened during the conference….right? Wait, I see Finn coming in the drive. Maybe he knows what's going on."

"Okay…." He heard Kurt mumble, but when his step-son walked in the door, Burt knew something was up. Finn's eyes were red and puffy, and he was walking with his head down, making almost no noise as he walked through the house (an impressive feat for the lanky adult).

"Finn!" Burt called his heart dropping at the kid's hollow expression. "What the hell is going on? First, I have Kurt here telling me that Blaine thinks he's dead, then you come in here and-"

"Wait!" Finn sprinted over to where Burt was standing. "You…you can't be…..can't be talking…to Kurt…." Finn's voice trailed off as Burt pressed the speaker-phone button.

"And why is it that he can't?" Kurt asked through the phone, his voice sounding extremely exasperated.

"Kurt…." Finn whispered, "its really you?" and when the "yes" was replied, Finn collapsed into the chair and began sobbing.

"Finn!" Burt and Kurt said at the same time. "Will you please explain what is going on?" Kurt asked.

Finn looked up at Burt, his face a big smile and his eyes shining, until a look of confusion broke out over his face. "wait, Kurt, didn't you fly in from Chicago today?"

"…yes…"

"But….your plane was supposed to leave Chicago at 6, right?"

"Well, it was supposed to, but they messed up my ticket so I took the 7:30 flight instead. But what-"

"That explains it….." Finn said his face and tone completely in shock.

Burt looked down at him, a concerned look on his face. Finn had gone from looking broken to ecstatic in all of 2 minutes, and Burt wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about that. "Explains what, Finn?" he asked gently.

Finn shook his head. "We all thought that Kurt was on the 6 pm flight. All of us. Me, Rachel, Blaine…and then at 6:30…..on the news….they had cameras and reporters and all sorts of witnesses and police officers and people crying and screaming and then there was all of this fire and-"

"Finn," Kurt said calmly, "what are you talking about?"

"Kurt…..the plane that you were supposed to be on…it crashed about 20 minutes from New York." Finn heard both men gasp and saw Burt sit down, but he continued. "Rachel heard it while she was in the car, and she had to turn off the road until she stopped crying. Then she drove over to Blaine's rehearsal to get him, because she knew that he was going to go pick you up because…you see….she couldn't just let him find out at the airport with everyone else…she knew that he had to find out at home…but when she got there, he was cross because he just wanted to go get you…and then he got worried because she was having trouble telling him…..and then he went back stage and turned on the news and…" Finn trailed off as now he, Burt and Kurt were in tears of shock, joy, and relief all at once. "And then she said that he just lost it, and he didn't seem to hear anything but he just let Rachel push him along, and then she brought him back to your apartment. And then she called me, and I couldn't…Kurt….if you had actually….I just sat in my car for what felt like hours, trying to figure it all out, and how I was supposed to tell Burt, and that's what I came home to do….." Finn looked up at Burt who embraced him in a hug.

There was a pause before Burt spoke again. "Thank god you called when you did, bud," he said smiling, "and I'll make sure we let everyone know. But right now, I think you need to go talk to Blaine."

"But what am I supposed to say?" Kurt asked, bewildered. "I mean, he saw me, right? So why didn't he realize that I was alive?"

"Kurt," Burt sighed, "when your mother died, I saw her after that. In my dreams, during the day, I knew she was gone but I couldn't help seeing her. That's probably what Blaine thinks is happening right now. You just need to prove it to him. It'll be ok. Just talk to him. Prove to him that you're still there, ok?"

"Alright dad," Kurt said smiling, "I think I have an idea. I'll call you later."

The line disconnected and Burt looked down at Finn. "You really cared about him that much?" he asked his step-son quietly. Finn just kept his head down, looking at the table. "More." He said quietly. "After Rachel called me, I…..I didn't believe her. Refused to believe her. I mean, what with what Blaine had called us about last week and how Kurt had finally gotten out of here and now, just…" he was crying again, and Burt pulled him into a tight hug.

Kurt remained sitting in the hallway of the apartment complex. I can't believe what he had to go through. I can't even imagine what I would have done if I thought he had died. And although Kurt felt terrible for his boyfriend, he couldn't help feeling touched. Never in a million years did he ever think that someone would care that much about him who wasn't a relative. Then he had met Blaine, and if the past six years weren't enough, Blaine had just shown Kurt how much he means to him, and Kurt knew that he felt exactly the same way. He headed into the apartment, ready to persuade Blaine to listen to him and to realize what was really going on.

Blaine felt a pressure on his shoulder. He looked up and groaned, leaning back over the toilet. "Ugh, what do you want now? Can't you just leave me here to be miserable?" He started coughing and felt the dream-Kurt rubbing circles in his back. "Or am I still dreaming?" He looked up at the dream-Kurt and saw that his face was red. "I guess it figures you would have just been crying," Blaine said sadly, "it didn't hurt too much when you died, did it? Cause if you had to leave, I didn't want it to hurt….." he trailed off, the tears becoming too much as he put his head between his arms and his body started shaking. "Oh, baby," the dream-Kurt said, "it didn't hurt at all". "That's good." Blaine said through tears, "because I promised that I would…..that I would never hurt you or let anything hurt you…and if it didn't hurt…..then I guess I kind of did my job….." He looked up at the dream-Kurt who was shaking his head. "No, Blaine," he said, "It didn't hurt…..because it didn't happen."

Blaine just stood up from floor and pulled the dream-Kurt into the living room. "I know it's hard to accept, but here…look….." and he turned on the TV which was still on the news channel. On the top was the caption "Plane from Chicago to New York Crashes at 6:40 PM EST: No Survivors". Kurt choked up and tears started falling from his eyes. I can't believe that he had to think that that was me, he thought. "Wait…." Blaine looked at him suspiciously, "why are you crying? I never actually see you crying in my dreams…..only…..when I'm awake…." Blaine trailed off thoughtfully. "Blaine," Kurt said, suddenly getting an idea, "go get your phone." Blaine grabbed it from the table and saw that he had a missed call. He looked up at Kurt, remembering thinking that he heard a song playing somewhere in the room. "Wait…you called me?" Kurt just nodded his head. Blaine put the phone on speaker and listened to the message.

"Hey, Blaine! My plane just landed in New York. Sorry if you were waiting for me, I told you not to, but I had to take a later flight because the 6 o'clock one was full. I should be home around 8:45 unless the traffic is really bad, which it probably is, so I'll see you when I get home. Love you!"

Blaine just stood there looking at Kurt. "Blaine," Kurt said gently. "Wait…you weren't on the 6 o'clock flight?" Blaine asked his eyes brightening. Kurt nodded his head and tears fell down both men's faces. Blaine walked cautiously over to Kurt and cupped his cheek in his hand. "But…you called me earlier…..you said your plane was leaving at 6….." 'It was supposed to." Kurt said, and he couldn't help but smiling as he put his arms around Blaine's waist, "but I had to take an earlier flight because my ticket got messed up, and they double-booked my flight. The other gentleman started a big argument about how 'someone like me' didn't have any reason to go back to New York so quickly, and rather than get into an argument, I thought I would just wait the extra 40 minutes…." Blaine just looked at Kurt and flung himself into his boyfriend's arms. He kissed Kurt desperately, but even still it was full of love. They pulled away but Blaine's body was still shaking and he could hardly breathe from crying.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetheart." Kurt said gently, lowering Blaine down onto the couch and sitting next to him. Blaine took a minute to breathe and then looked at Kurt. "I know…..I know that its ok. But Kurt, I…I didn't know what to do. I thought you were gone, and I just didn't know how I was supposed to keep going and-"He was cut off with a chaste kiss, effectively calming his still fragile nerves.

"Hey now," Kurt said, "I'm here now. But you can't go talking like that. I don't want you to give up if something were to happen."

"Because you wouldn't do it if the roles were reversed?" Blaine asked, smiling grimly. Kurt was about to talk, but repaid Blaine a similar smile when he realized he was asking Blaine to do what would be impossible for him. He squeezed Blaine's hand lightly. "I'm just sorry you had to go through all of this."

Blaine just shook his head gently. 'It wasn't your fault" he said, pulling Kurt so they were both standing now, "besides, it showed us both something." "And what's that?" Kurt asked quietly. "That we really can't live without each other." Blaine replied, falling to one knee and pulling a small box out of his pocket. Kurt stood there speechless but a smile broke out across his face.

"Kurt, you've always been a part of my future. Always. And tonight, I just couldn't picture my future because without you, it didn't exist. I was planning on doing this under happier circumstances, but…" he trailed off, opening the box to reveal a simple silver band with a circular diamond in the middle, "Kurt Hummel…will you do me the greatest honor and become my husband?" He looked up expectantly at Kurt, a huge smile on his face.

Kurt couldn't believe it. He felt like the luckiest man, no, person alive, and looked at the tears on Blaine's cheeks that he knew mimicked his own. "Yes. Oh god Blaine, Yes! Of course I will marry you!" He flung himself onto Blaine, pushing both men onto the floor where the shared a kiss full of so much love and sincerity. They only paused for a minute when Blaine slid the ring on his fiancé's finger, before deepening the kiss. Suddenly, Blaine laughed. Kurt sat up and looked at him incredulously. "What's so funny?"

"Just think," Blaine said, "Even though it made our lives hell, Homophobia is how we met, and what brought you home to me."

Kurt smiled before going in for another kiss.