A/N: So sorry this has taken so long to be updated! This chapter's written a little differently than the last few (you'll see as you read) but I hope you still enjoy it!


Time seemed to freeze and skip in the same moment. Kurt's breathing hitched but his mind started pumping adrenaline immediately, leaving him shaky and breathless as he jumped off Dave's lap and twisted around to look for the source of that angry voice. He paled when he caught sight of his father standing in the doorway, muscles tense and face red in obvious anger. Finn was standing behind Burt, staring at Kurt and Dave apologetically. It was quite possibly the scariest, most embarrassing moment of Kurt's short life.

"D-dad," he stuttered out, voice high and breathy. "It's- it's not-"

Burt lumbered forward, infuriated. He stopped right in front of Kurt, glaring down at his son as he said, "Kurt, what's going on here?"

"Dave was just leaving," Kurt said dumbly, curling his fingers tight around the fabric of his sleeves.

"Dave?" Burt's eyebrows snapped down, furrowing his brow. "Karofsky?"

Kurt couldn't move. All he knew was that his dad had come home to find him alone with a guy. That was inappropriate. He could already hear the disappointment his father's voice would carry as he lectured him about following the rules. After the way Burt had been ignoring him in favor of Carole and Finn again, Kurt had a feeling that the talking to would be a lot more painful than it usually was. His body shook and his breathing hitched, the air coming in short, unsatisfying bursts.

"Dad, it's fine. I'm fine," Kurt babbled desperately, his terror and worry causing the strange, uncomfortable result of both tightening his throat and loosening his verbal inhibitions. He waved his hands about aimlessly. "Nothing happened, nothing will happen. Dave was just- We were just-"

Crossing his arms, Burt grimaced and shook his head. "I've got a pretty good idea of what 'you were just', Kurt. We've talked about this."

A twinge of shame resonated in Kurt's chest, like a strong thrumming of a guitar string. "I-I know we did and I wouldn't do anything to-to-"

Quiet words came from the couch behind him, soothing him slightly as Dave took up his unofficial duties as protector. "Calm down, Kurt. It's alright."

"It is not alright," Burt roared, pointing at Dave. "I just walked in to see my son in the lap of his bully with his boyfriend no where in sight. I thought I raised Kurt better than that; I thought I taught him better than that when we talked about how having boys alone in my house was wrong!"

Despite the obvious tension, Dave scoffed and snapped right back. "If you honestly think Blaine should be here instead of me, then you're not the father I thought you were, Mr. Hummel."

"How dare you?!" Burt raged, his face darkening even further in his fury. "You come in my home, molest my son, and think you can get away with talking me to like that?!"

"Dad, don't!" Kurt raised his hands entreatingly. "It's not like that! You don't know-"

"I don't know what, Kurt? From the looks of it, I don't know a lot of things!"

Kurt cringed, his fear overwhelming him. He felt like his skin was going to vibrate right off because he was shaking so hard and he could hardly hear anything over the pounding that filled his ears. Was that his heartbeat he was hearing? It was so fast and loud. Had the living room always been this dark and suffocating? "I-I-I-"

He could feel his body giving in to the stress, sliding down to the floor as if in slow motion.

"Kurt!" Two voices rang out worriedly. There was a quick shuffle around the room as Finn pushed passed Burt and Dave hurled himself off the couch. Out of nowhere, Kurt was enveloped in the familiar feeling of large, masculine protection, but he could hardly focus on it. In fact, he was so trapped in his haze of panic that he could barely hear the commotion going on over his head.

"Dave! Dave, he can't breathe," Finn's voice cried. "I think he's going to pass out. What do I do?!"

"I've got it," Dave snapped back, using frustration to cover his concern. "He'll be fine."

"The Hell you do!" Burt roared again, the sound of his heavy, forceful rage pounding through Kurt's mind. "Get the Hell away from my son, Karofsky!"

As Kurt heard that, he tried to move, tried to straighten up so he could pull Dave away from Burt. Even though Burt was his father and had tried to do right by him in the past, Kurt couldn't let him hurt or take away anything that made him happy. Before he could do so, however, Kurt felt the thick, smothering blanket of unconsciousness being pulled over him.

No. . . he thought hazily. David. . .don't leave me. . .

[Kurtofsky Endgame]

"Fuck," Dave spat breathlessly, catching Kurt just before his body hit the carpet. He swung the smaller boy up into his arms carefully and looked up at the man in front of him. "See what you did?! Fuck."

Although Burt's face had paled as he watched his little boy fall to the floor, the insolence in the voice of the boy who caught him caused his anger to flare hotly. "What I did? This would never have happened if you hadn't been here, Karofsky."

Before Dave had the chance to reply, Finn said quietly, "If he hadn't been here, it would've happened earlier."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Burt asked as he turned to stare at his stepson.

Finn stared at the unconscious Kurt in Dave's arms guiltily, shifting with nerves before looking back up at Burt in determination. "Blaine was here earlier. He got a bit rough."

Dave snorted, but quieted when he caught Finn's glare.

"Finn," Burt pleaded, realizing that he was way out of the loop. "Start from the beginning."

"He can't," Dave said quietly, holding Kurt close. "He wasn't there. But I was. If you'd let me, I could put Kurt in his room and tell you everything."

With the earlier outrage from seeing Kurt in this boy's lap somewhat cleared away, Burt only nodded shortly. He watched with cautious eyes as Finn lead Dave up the stairs to Kurt's room, but stayed in the living room to wait for their return.

"Here," Finn said softly, opening the second door on the left so Dave could go in. He watched with a small smile as the other teen carefully laid his brother on the soft white bedclothes that covered Kurt's bed. It was especially difficult to keep from cooing as he caught sight of how sweetly Dave brushed Kurt's hair back from his face before standing.

"Alright," Dave breathed out slowly. "Let's go."

"I think I'm gonna stay up here with Kurt," Finn murmured, moving to sit in the strange egg chair on the far side of the room. "That way he won't freak out if he wakes up and he's alone."

"Thanks, man," Dave answered, his voice half grateful and half sarcastic. He so did not want to face Hummel Senior by himself. It was a little early in life for, y'know, death.

Laughing, Finn shooed him back downstairs with an understanding apology and a "been there, done that".

By the time Dave made it back to the living room, Burt was sitting in the recliner by the couch with his head in his hands. Although the man was noticeably calmer, Dave still approached cautiously.

"Mr. Hummel?"

Burt raised his head slowly, his face a picture of worry and confusion. "Karofsky."

"You can call me Dave. If you want."

The man nodded carefully. "Alright."

Dave shifted uneasily, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. "So, you want the whole story?"

"Please."

"If I tell you," Dave said slowly. "You have to promise that Kurt won't get in trouble. Tonight, all this, I was just trying to look out for him."

If anything, this only caused Burt to look even more worried and tired. "I understand that, Dave. I appreciate it. I just wish it wasn't necessary."

Dave nodded and sighed. "But it was."

"Why?"

Taking that as his cue to start explaining, Dave answered him. "Last night, I was feeling pretty stressed about some stuff so I went out. I ended up at this little bar I've been to a few times and I sat down for a beer. I wasn't trying to get drunk, just unwind."

"What do you have to be stressed about?" Burt wondered aloud. "You're just a kid!"

"Sir, I hate to bring up bad memories but all that stuff with Kurt last year wasn't just hard on him. It was hard on me, too," Dave took a deep breath. He didn't want to expose himself like this but he guessed that it would only help in the end. "I was trying to come to terms with my sexuality and only Kurt knew it. I was so afraid that he was going to tell someone that I tried to scare him into not saying anything. It worked for a while, until I threatened to kill him."

A little bit of the earlier anger was creeping back into Burt's eyes but he stayed still and quiet, willing to hear Dave's side of the story. "Go on."

"I was expelled but that was overturned. Kurt transferred to Dalton. It seemed like everything was okay," Dave shook his head ruefully. "And then came Santana."

"Santana?" Burt questioned, curious of the girl who was spoken of with such obvious fondness, even if there was exasperation too.

"Santana Lopez. She's a Cheerio and used to be in glee club with Kurt until their weird civil war thing," Dave explained. "She's also one of my best friends and my ex-girlfriend."

Burt's eyebrows came together in confusion. "I thought you said. . ."

"I did. She caught me out and offered to be my girlfriend so no one would suspect," Dave said quietly. Even though their relationship had been as fake as Santana's breasts, he kept her in a special place in his heart. "She wanted to run for prom queen and thought that an anti-bullying campaign would be the key. She also thought it would help if we got Kurt to transfer back."

"So all that stuff in the principal's office was a lie?" Burt asked, his voice tense and unhappy. He had only let Kurt return to McKinley because he thought that his son would be safe.

Dave shook his head frantically. "No! No, it just wasn't for the reasons everyone assumed. Santana and I protected Kurt and we were doing a damn good job until prom."

"What happened at prom?" Kurt's father asked, wary of the answer.

"I was crowned Prom King and my Queen. . .Well, it wasn't Santana."

The room was silent for a while, Dave trying to come up with the nerve to continue and Burt coming to conclusions that weren't looking good.

"It was Kurt, wasn't it?" Burt asked. At Dave's tentative nod, he shook his head in sadness. "I knew him and Finn were acting odd when they got home, but I didn't question it. He never told me."

"He probably didn't want to upset you," Dave tried to reassure him. "After that, I was even more stressed. Principal Figgins had wanted us to dance at prom, but I couldn't. So I left. I felt like if I danced with Kurt, everyone would know that I'm gay. I still felt like everyone knew despite leaving prom. I felt trapped."

"What did you do?"

"I transferred schools," Dave admitted quietly. "That's why I was at the bar. I'd been there a few times and I liked it. When the stress of being gay- being at a new school, being alone and friendless- built up last night, I knew I could go there. So I did."

"Is this bar. . ." Burt trailed off. "Is it. . ."

"It's a gay bar," Dave confirmed, his voice stronger and more confident now that they weren't really focusing on him and his issues. "Not that popular, kind of small and dingy, but it's safe."

Burt nodded. "So you said you went there and got a beer. I guess you were just relaxing at the bar? Not out dancing or-or whatever?"

Laughing softly, Dave shook his head. "Definitely just sitting."

"What does any of this have to do with Kurt and what happened tonight?" Burt asked, even though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

"About fifteen minutes after I sat down, Kurt came in."


A/N: Keep an eye out for the next chapter where Dave finishes his story, Kurt wakes up, and Burt is tempted to kill someone. Oh, and Finn finally gets his pizza! Please review!

~S.