"Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"I wish you would tell them."

"I know Kurt, and I will when I'm ready, I swear." Finn smiled as Kurt curled up against his side to watch their movie.

"So Finn, do you want to work in a threesome for the glee club assignment? Kurt and I have some butt- kicking mash-up plans." Mercedes smiled up at the gangly jock as they made their way out of English. The two had become surprisingly close friends after sectionals. That and the fact that Kurt had told the diva him and Finn were dating. She had to protect her baby, so she had gotten to know the QB, and she was pleasantly surprised at how easy he was to get along with. She could also see he really cared about Kurt, A lot.

Kurt had always been there for Finn, and after he dumped Quinn and Puck, (he hated the bastard,) he and Kurt got together. Of course, Mercedes was the ONLY person at McKinley who knew. Kurt had often complained that if they were happy, people should know. Finn had opposed it, he just wasn't ready. Mercedes and Finn were planning for the mash-up assignment coming up as they walked down the hall. They had stayed after a few minutes because the teacher had to explain the homework to Finn in jock language so he could understand. They were running about 10 minutes after the ending bell had rung and were eager to get going and go home.

Winters in Ohio were brutal, and today was no exception. It had stopped snowing, but there was a good 7-8 inches on the ground and it was blistering cold. The two walked by one of the doors by the back of the school. They were laughing over some stupid joke that Finn had heard. They were just passing the door when a very distraught looking Tina ran in and cut them off. She was breathing heavily, panic in her eyes.

"Oh, thank god I found you. It's horrible, guys. I tried to stop him but he just kept going. He pulled him outside and started screaming. He told him he would kill him for making Quinn cry and…" Mercedes cut her off.

"Breathe, Tina, now what's going on?" Tina looked at them with worry strewn over her face.

"It's Kurt. Puck got him. Kurt confronted Quinn about you, Finn. She told Puck and she started crying. Puck was pissed. Puck said he was going to kill him." Finn's eyes widened as he grabbed Tina and demanded where they were. She told him to follow her and she ran outside, Mercedes and Finn following.

They ran past the teacher's parking lot and into the football field. Shouts could be heard now. Finn's breath became jagged as he saw a crowd up ahead. Finn sprinted ahead and the three ran faster. They reached the windowless side of the building where the crowd was. They saw motion and heard screams coming from behind the wall. A familiar brunette head broke from the crowd as Rachel ran up to them, tears in her eyes. He didn't even look at her. Finn ran ahead and broke through the wall of bodies until he could see the commotion. He barely saw Puck slug someone in the stomach. The person being beaten screamed before choking out a sob. The person looked up, tears streaming down their face. Kurt. He started to speak but Puck knocked him upside the head with a hard blow.

Finn couldn't believe it. Puck and three other jocks were beating Kurt senselessly. Puck swore like a sailor, shouting every bit of his large expanse of profanity as he attacked Kurt. Some words Finn don't even know existed. The screaming got louder as Kurt took punch after punch. The three jocks were punching him harder. Kurt's cries pierced Finn's ears like daggers from hell. Finn stood wide eyed. The crowd was in shock. Some were shouting, some people crying quietly. Then something happened that made Finn's world slow down and everything else disappear. He heard Puck shout "I a going to kill you you son of a bitch!"

Puck had a knife in his hand. A good six inches long, it was sharpened to a lethal edge. It tapered menacingly. He swung at Kurt with fury. Kurt managed to escape the major blow but still caught the knife blade in the stomach. Again and again Puck slashed out at him, hitting Kurt most of the time. Then Puck threw the knife into the ground and grabbed a snow shovel from his minion. Finn's breath stopped as he heard the loud crack. He watched as Kurt crumpled face down into the snow. Puck began beating the boy with the shovel, aiming for his legs and head. He saw Mercedes streak over to where her friend had fallen, but it quickly faded as adrenaline took over his mind. He didn't know what happened next, except now Puck was on the ground, and Finn was punching him in the face over and over. Finn smiled at the satisfying crunch as Puck's nose shattered under his fingers. Puck's followers pulled him off and Puck scrambled to his feet.

"What the fuck man?" Puck glared at him as he wiped the blood from his broken nose. Finn broke free of Puck's friends and looked at Puck with some much hatred he saw Puck's eyes widen. Puck quickly tried to get Finn on his side.

"He- he made Quinn cry. He can't do that man."

"Stop acting like I care about that lying whore. Get this through your Mohawk you son of a bitch. Nobody. Messes. With. My. Boyfriend." Finn took a step closer with every word until he was right in Puck's face. He heard gasps from the crowd behind. Boyfriend? Puck smirked at that while his voice shook in fear.

"I knew you were a fag." Finn then proceeded to slug the mohawked Neanderthal in the balls and Puck shouted in pain. Finn started punching him again and Puck managed to wriggle out from underneath him. He called to his friends and they ran away. Finn watched them go before his attention was caught by a pitiful,

"Finn!" he turned to see Mercedes holding a bleeding, unconscious Kurt in her arms. Finn was numb with shock as he bent down by Mercedes. Kurt was in horrible condition. Finn looked at the bleeding slashes on his stomach and arms from the knife. His head had a massive gouge from the shovels' blade; it was gushing blood like no tomorrow. How can someone lose this much blood and survive, no one knew. Finn looked as his boyfriends eyes moved frantically behind his eyelids. Purplish yellow bruises were forming everywhere. He had a black eye and his heart was racing. Blood gushed out of the countless wounds. The snow around them was darkening with Kurt's blood. If he lost more, he could die. He was vaguely aware that Tina, Artie, and Rachel were now around them. He snapped to reality when Rachel shoved him out of the way to examine Kurt. He looked at her and snapped,

"Rachel, what the hell are you doing?"

"Saving his life. My dad's a doctor so he gave me an emergency first aid kit." He pulled Kurt's shirt up to look at the gash on his stomach. She sprayed a blue liquid onto the cut, and the bleeding slowed. She then took out a tube of medical glue and lined Kurt's wound.

"Mercedes, hold the wound closed so I can finish." Mercedes' face was grim as she did as she was told. Rachel started on the other slashes on Kurt's stomach. Tina was sobbing lightly and Artie just watched his face slightly green. The poor kid looked like he was going to puke. Finn stumbled on his knees over to Artie who happened to be by Kurt's head. They looked at each other with fear in their eyes. Artie smiled weakly at him and put a hand on Finn's shoulder. Finn nodded in return, he didn't think he could smile. Not now.

Finn went around told hold Kurt's upper body in his arms as Rachel began to work on his head wound, his stomach bandaged up. She sprayed the same liquid on it and wrapped a large bandage around Kurt's head. She bandaged up various other cuts on his arms and torso while Finn held Kurt close, muttering to himself. He was staring at the blinding snow behind Mercedes, who was on Kurt's other side. He just stared. He was completely zoned out. A low and agonized moan brought him out of his trance. Kurt's eyelids began to flutter and Finn watched closely.

"Kurt? Baby can you hear me?" Mercedes looked down at the half conscious Kurt with wide and panicked eyes.

"Finn? Sadie?" Kurt was awake, looking up at them with blood shot eyes. His voice was small and agonized, probably sore after being punched in the throat. Finn and Mercedes let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. Mercedes lifted a hand to push Kurt's hair out of his eyes. She looked at him closely. He looked awful. She took notice of the purple bruises forming all over Kurt's body. His hair was matted down with sweat and blood. Kurt moved to try to sit up, but screamed in pain and collapsed against Finn's chest.

"Kurt? What hurts?" Rachel looked at him and Kurt looked at his leg with wide eyes. She moved to pull his pants leg up to check. Kurt's face went white as Rachel's eyes widened at the huge gash on his lower leg.

"Wow, show shovels are deadly," Rachel muttered, "Ok, Kurt? This is going to hurt like hell but I have to fix this the best I can." Kurt's eyes were wide as dinner plates as he stared at the seeping blood. He nodded and shrieked in pain. He grabbed his head and groaned in agony, his eyes were squinted shut.

"Kurt what's wrong? Wait, your head hurts?" Kurt nodded bleakly, leaning against Finn's chest. Kurt's eyes were closed and his face was scrunched up in agony.

"Ok, um, judging from the fact that they hit you with a show shovel, I'm guessing you may have a concussion." Rachel's voice shook and her hands were quivering as she moved his pants back. Kurt's teeth were clattering. Finn took off his jacket and wrapped it around Kurt. Finn, in his t-shirt now, looked at Rachel.

"We need to get him to a hospital. Now." Finn nodded when Rachel spoke and looked at Kurt. Mercedes was sobbing uncontrollably. Wow, no one had ever seen her cry. Kurt meant so much to her that she had broken down. The realization of how much danger Kurt was in brought the tears from Finn eyes.

"Kurt, we need to get you out of here, ok?" Finn voice wavered with concern and shock as he looked at the person in his embrace. The boy's skin was waxy, the color and life was fading from it. Kurt looked up at him with glassy eyes. Kurt's eyes rolled back into his head. His eyelids fluttered as he leaned against Finn's chest.

"Kurt! Kurt!" Kurt was already unconscious. Finn looked up to Rachel nervously. She glanced back and swallowed.

"We need to go. Right away. This has become a life or death situation. He has lost way too much blood, which might be why he passed out, the other option probably being hypothermia. " Finn's breathe shook in his chest.

"I'll carry him then." He scooped up to smaller boy, amazed at how light he was. Kurt whimpered faintly. Finn began walking, the crowd left making a path. One person in the crowd, Quinn looked at him with wide eyes. Her eyes traveled down to the unconscious Kurt and she clapped her hand to her mouth. She looked on the verge of tears.

"I am so sorry that he made you cry Fabray. Hope your playing pathetic and vulnerable was worth it. I hope you're happy, because this is your fault." Quinn looked at him with emotionless eyes as Finn spoke. Only when he said it was her fault did she show emotion, guilt.

"I- I never thought that… I didn't…" Quinn stuttered in shock as she stared at Kurt's pale, bloody face.

"Finn! What part of we need to go don't you get?" Mercedes screamed at him. They were about 20 feet away. Artie had been hauled up onto the sidewalk and sped ahead with Tina. Lord knows where they were going. He numbly walked around to the school door. The fastest way to get to the front of the lot was through the school. The faster, the better. Tina and Artie were waiting by the door. Tina held the door open as Artie scooted through; the two were speeding away and thus clearing a path for the rest. They were soon out of sight.

Kurt hung limply in Finn's arms, drifting in and out of consciousness, his arms hanging uselessly from his sides. Kurt's head was thrown back and his mouth was open slightly as he moaned in pain. Finn felt the eyes of the McKinley student body on his back as he rushed through the school.

He barely noticed the gasps of the kids and teachers as they rushed through the halls. Artie burst out of a class up ahead, Mr. Shue following behind. The teacher's eyes widened and the color drained from his face.

"Can you tell us where the hospital is?" Rachel asked, out of breath. Mr. Shue nodded and followed them out the door. They reached the parking lot in time for Tina to pull up in front of them. She was in Mercedes' car. She screamed for them to get in. Rachel motioned for Mr. Shue to take Artie. They nodded and the teacher sped off with Artie following behind. Kurt moaned as he was loaded into the car. Rachel got in shot gun and Mercedes climbed in behind Finn. Tina floored it and they shot out of the parking lot.

Kurt's eyes moved rapidly behind his closed lids. He began shaking uncontrollably. His breathing quickened and became jagged. Finn felt the boy's body tense u in his arms. Finn looked at Rachel, both their eyes wide.

"Rachel what the hell is happening?"

"I-I don't know! I don't know!" Kurt's breath slowly became more normal and controlled. He seemed to relax into Finn's arms. The small boy laid his head on Finn's chest.

. Kurt was still shaking, but not as badly. Finn held him tightly as they neared the highway. Rachel cleared her throat.

"So, um, Kurt's your… boyfriend now?" Mercedes shot Finn a look and Finn looked at her uncomfortably. Mercedes gave him a comforting look. Finn took a deep breath. Of all the places and times, now she had to ask. He closed his eyes for a moment before answering.

"Yeah, we've been together ever since sectionals actually. We haven't told anyone because, I wasn't ready. Guess now everyone knows."

"Well, you did shout pretty loud." Finn laughed and put his hand on Rachel's. Kurt had stopped shaking for now. "But Finn, it is really sweet. How did you find out that he was the one?"

"Um, well, we hung out as friends for a while, and then somewhere between all our laughs, long talks, stupid little fights and all our jokes, I fell in Love." An awkward silence filled the car. Tina was so busy avoiding car crashes that she wasn't listening to the conversation.

"Hey! Get ready to run!" Tina shouted as she pulled into the ER lot. Finn adjusted Kurt in his arms. Kurt moaned and whined in response. Rachel popped the door open and helped Finn get Kurt out safely. Mercedes went to tell Tina to park the car. She and Finn ran inside following Rachel.

"Hey! We need help here!" Rachel shouted as she ran up to the nearest doctor. Everything happened fast. Soon Kurt was being lifted out of his arms and hauled away. Mercedes stood next to Finn and sobbed quietly to herself. Mercedes went to the bathroom to wash her face.

Finn stood blankly for at least 20 minutes before he felt a strong arm on his shoulder. Finn whirled around to find a man smiling at him. The man was about 5 foot 10. He had short, brown hair and thick glasses. He was balding and he had a kind look to him. He also had a very contented looking Rachel hanging on his arm. The man removed his hand from Finn's shoulder and placed it at his side.

"Mr. Hudson, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm doctor Berry, Rachel's father." The man smiled as Rachel squeezed his arm.

"Finn, come on, I filled dad in on what happened. We need to go to his office so we can talk."

"Thanks sir, it's a pleasure to meet you too." Finn smiled blankly at the doctor, his mind still on Kurt.

"You're lucky Rachel was there." The man said, "She's a good little doctor. She applied everything perfectly. Your friend could have died of blood lose if it weren't for Rach's quick thinking." He beamed at his daughter, who grinned in return.

"Mr. Hudson, please, why don't we go into my office?" Finn nodded as he followed Rachel and her father.

Mr. Berry's office was cozy, painted a warm red and brown. Finn plopped himself in a over stuffed armchair in front of the desk. Rachel sat down in the one next to him. Mr., sorry, Doctor, Berry went to the door. He stood for a minute and spoke to one of his nurses. He soon returned with a sheet of paper on a clipboard and sat at his desk reading it over.

"Oh, this is good news! Very good indeed." He looked up at the kids and smiled. "Kurt is going to be fine! He is currently being moved to the ICU but will be moved later on tonight to a regular room. He has been given a blood transfusion and his body is responding well so far. Thanks to Rachel's expert bandaging, we only had to go in a few places to add more permanent stitches. He is currently awake and with his father, unfortunately since it's the ICU we cannot allow any non-family visitors. We've given him pain killers and he should be recovered within a week." Finn felt a weight lift off his chest. Kurt was ok! Just then, someone knocked at the door and came in. the three turned to look who it was and Finn was shocked to see his mother standing there. She smiled at him.

"Finn, we should go. Dinner's waiting and you look freezing." He was. He was still in his t-shirt and the cold from outside seemed to stick and burrow into his skin. He nodded and stood to go. Finn's mom wrapped his old coat around him and he hugged her in thanks. Before they walked out, Finn turned and looked to the doctor.

"Um, do you know when their letting him out?"

"Yes, he should be headed home tomorrow evening. We would like to keep him for at least 10 hours after he's been moved to a regular room." Crap, Finn knew that there was no way his dad would let him go to school for the rest of the week.

"Ok, thank you." Finn followed his mother out the door. He crashed as soon as he got in the car, the days events had worn him out. He awoke when they got home and he settled for a hot shower before going to sleep.

The next two days went by without memory or importance. On the third day however, a Thursday, school took forever to go by. There was no sign of Kurt anywhere, again. He was pleased to see that no one had spread the rumor of Kurt being Finn's boyfriend. He made small talk but mostly kept to himself. When he got to Spanish, Mercedes had forced him to make conversation, even though he just wanted to zone out and get his mind of Kurt. Finally, the lunch bell rang. Finn wasn't hungry, so after standing at his locker for ten minutes, he decided to head to the choir room for some alone time before the glee club rolled in for rehearsal.

He only had about 5 minutes before they started showing up, so he hurriedly ran to the choir room. The hall was dead quiet as he approached the room at the other end. Slowly as he made his way along, he noticed a soft music coming from, somewhere. As he looked around to the choir room, he noticed something, or, someone, sitting at the piano. That someone was wearing a stark white long sleeved over shirt covering a filigreed black and white shirt underneath. Simple black shoes and jeans completed the ensemble. Finn recognized the melody being forced from the piano as Clare de Lune, Finn smiled as he saw the concentration on the musicians face. His head wound had been hidden by his hair perfectly. The only visible injury was a barely visible black eye behind loads of cover up. Finn waited and listened for a moment before speaking.

"So, how did you convince your dad to let you come today?" Kurt smiled at the keys before lifting his head at the speaker.

"I had to climb out a window." Kurt smiled adorably and stood up to walk over to Finn. Finn noticed how Kurt walked slowly and with a limp, obviously the gash in his leg was still bothering him. The two met in the middle of the room and looked at each other before Finn sighed heavily.

"If you ever scare me like that again, I may have to hurt you." Kurt looked up in mock fear at Finn's face, knowing the boy would never do such a thing.

"I am so glad you're ok Kurt, you scared the hell outta me." Kurt laughed and hugged his boyfriend.

"My apologies your highness." Finn laughed before pulling Kurt in and kissing him. Kurt winced into Finn's lips and Finn relaxed his grip on the smaller boys arm, knowing he had a nasty bruise there. The two stood like that for a minute before a giggle distracted them and parted, still holding each other.

"Finn? Who is that?" Tina called from the door. Finn realized that his body was blocking the view from the doorway so no one could see that it was Kurt. Finn smiled at his boyfriend and turned to face Tina who looked at him curiously. She looked at Kurt, who was visible now, and her eyes widened.

"Kurt?" she gasped. "Kurt!" she ran up to her friend and grabbed him in a tight hug. Kurt's face went white and his eyes squeezed shut. He bit his bottom lip in agony. Tina quickly pulled off. Kurt grabbed his stomach and sighed. Tina had been crushing one of the more horrifying injuries on his stomach.

"Ohmygod, I am so sorry Kurt!" Tina looked at him with wide eyes.

"No, no it's fine, it's ok." Kurt smiled at the Goth and she grinned back. Others started pooling into the choir room. Now was the time to put his plan into action. Puck was suspended for a month. Everyone was in the room now. People crowded around Kurt and said how glad they were that he was ok. Quinn just sat back and watched.

Finn grinned to himself as he reached and grabbed Kurt's arm to pull him out of the crowd of gleeks. Kurt tripped and collapsed into Finn's arms as he tugged Kurt out of the group. Kurt smiled up at him. Finn grinned back and leaned down to press his lips to the shorter boy's. Finn closed his eyes and slid his hands up Kurt's back to wrap around him, close to his shoulders so he wouldn't hurt the boy's stomach. Kurt wrapped his arms up around Finn's shoulders. Gasps circled the room and Kurt heard a camera phone go off. He parted from Finn's lips, and, still in his arms smiled.

"You decided people need to know now?" Kurt looked at Finn with a mildly curious expression.

"I couldn't think of a better time than now." Kurt laughed and hugged Finn closely. Mr. Shue walked in and smiled when he saw the couple.

"Kurt, it's good to see your ok. Everyone was so worried. Finn was going crazy when you weren't here these past few days." Kurt looked up at Finn with his classic "oh really" face. Finn laughed and kissed Kurt again. He was glad the secrets were over.