Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or any of the characters that appear on the show. This is just me playing around with them for our mutual entertainment.

A/n: And another chapter written before I've uploaded. Though I'm about to upload the first chapter as soon as I finish writing this author's note…

Blaine watched in silence as the priest went through the rituals he recognized as what was known as the Last Rites. He'd expected as much, although given the circumstances Blaine had expected the man to be finished with his work by the time Blaine arrived at the hospital. Still, Blaine carefully stroked the back of one of the boy's hands with his thumb as he watched.

"You know him well?" the priest asked once the rituals were completed. Blaine shook his head.

"I'm just his teacher. I happened to be there when he collapsed at school."

"And yet you are here when his own father isn't…" Blaine nodded.

"I'd do anything to help my students. I got a call saying that he was asking for me, so I came," Blaine explained. He turned to look at Rian as the boy began to cough. "I've been teaching for three years, but he'll be the first student I've lost. I just wish that I could do something more for him… save him somehow."

"It never gets any easier. Seeing someone so ill." Blaine nodded, smiling slightly as Rian opened his eyes for a moment. He instantly turned towards his student, wondering what the boy would say.

"I… I'm s-sorry… I sh-should…" Blaine winced as the boy began coughing again, whimpering in pain.

"Shhh… just relax. Breathe, Rian…" Blaine reached up and grabbed the oxygen mask sitting on the pillow, holding it against the boy's face in hopes that it would help. Eventually Rian reached up and feebly pushed Blaine's hand away.

"It w-was Da…"the boy said, closing his eyes again.

"Your dad hit you?" Blaine asked. He assumed that was what the boy meant, his suspicions confirmed when Rian nodded. Blaine sighed. "I wish we had time to call the police."

"He still might have time…" the priest commented. "I don't know that he would have the strength to tell them what happened. Not in enough detail." Blaine reached up and pushed the boy's curls out of his face. It broke his heart to see the boy like that.

"I just wish that he had told me before," Blaine replied. "My husband and I found out today that we're officially approved to take in foster kids. If he… if I had just known…" Blaine shook his head, trying not to cry.

"We can't protect them all."

"But I could have protected Rian."

Blaine wasn't sure how long he sat up with the boy, even after the priest left. The ICU was relatively quiet and it was easy enough for Blaine to fall asleep, leaning his head against the bed. It wasn't until he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder that he sat up, blinking and looking around. The first thing Blaine noticed was that all of the monitors were still showing their signs of life.

"He's certainly a fighter… we didn't think he was going to make it last night." Blaine smiled at the nurse, nodding.

"Do you think he has a chance?" Blaine asked, still holding the boy's hand.

"We aren't allowed to take any heroic measures to save him. But as long as his heart is still beating and he's still strong enough to breathe on his own, we're going to do everything we can for him," the nurse replied as she checked on the boy's vital signs. "He seems to be stronger now than he was last night."

"He said last night that his father hit him…" Blaine began. He watched as the nurse nodded, sighing.

"He said the same thing in the ER. There's a reason the boy's father hasn't been here."

"The police haven't spoken to him, though…" Blaine began.

"They thought he was going to die. Once he's a bit stronger, we'll call them and have him tell them everything. He's still not out of the woods, and he's not strong enough for all of that questioning now." Blaine turned back to the boy, noticing the beads of sweat forming on the boy's forehead and his pained expression.

"Is there anything I can do to help him?" Blaine asked.

"You should go home and get some rest. Right now, he needs some pain medication and another IV of antibiotics." Blaine nodded, standing up and rubbing his eyes as he glanced at his watch. He was surprised to see that it was almost 9 AM; he would have to hurry back to the apartment to make it in time to grab a quick shower and change clothes before his first violin student showed up.

Blaine wasn't surprised to find Kurt awake when he got home. "I'm sorry… it looked like he wasn't going to make it for a while there." Blaine leaned in to press a kiss against Kurt's cheek as he hurried through the kitchen on his way to their bathroom.

"But is everything okay?" Kurt asked.

"Rian's stronger than they thought. But he… he told me that his dad was the one that hit him," Blaine replied, stopping and leaning up against the counter.

"Do you know if they're going to put him into foster care?" Blaine shrugged.

"I don't know anything about his family, other than his dad. And it's still completely dependent on whether or not he survives… I still don't think they're holding out much hope, even if he did make it through the night. They're pumping him full of antibiotics right now, but he was septic when he got to the hospital…" Blaine smiled as he felt his husband take his hand.

"You want to ask Nadia if we can take him, don't you?" Blaine nodded.

"If he makes it through, I really want to offer to take him in. Rian is the exact kind of kid that we wanted to become foster parents to help… he wouldn't have to switch schools, and I could give him violin lessons. He's one of my best students, and he could be good enough to become a professional if he got the right training…" Blaine stopped as he saw his husband smirking at him. "You think I'm getting too far ahead of myself."

"I think that you need to relax a little and worry about the first part of the plan before you start figuring out the kid's whole life for him." Blaine smiled and nodded as Kurt leaned in for another kiss. "Now go ahead and get a shower. Christa and her mom will be here at 11 for her lesson, and I'm sure she'll make some kind of comment if you're still in yesterday's clothes. You know how her mother is…"

"I know, I know… I'll be out in ten minutes."