"You can't be serious."

Peter paid another visit to McKinley to inform Figgins, Will, and Sue about Blaine's...situation. It was Sue who spoke.

"Blaine is one of our best singers." Will protested. "You can't take him out of school now! Our Nationals is in less than two weeks!"

"Freak out, William." Sue raised an eyebrow.

Will sighed. "I'm sorry...it's just...we haven't won a National title for almost twenty years. This is the last competition for a lot of the kids."

"I understand." Peter said calmly. "But we wouldn't pull him out of school if the situation wasn't dangerous. Now, we're hoping this case will be closed by the time you go to Nationals. It's just better to be safe than sorry."

"He also only has two lines in a song. We can just give that to someone else." Sue suggested.

"True." Will stood up and extended his hand. "Thank you, Agent Burke."

"You're welcome."

XXX

Will walked to the auditorium where the New Directions were practicing their number for Nationals. Rachel spotted him.

"Oh, Mr. Schue, we were just about to rehearse Paradise. Where's Blaine?" She asked.

Will sighed heavily. "He's not coming."

"What? What do you mean?" Finn asked. He and a few others turned to Kurt as if to get answers from him.

"He's going on a road trip with Cooper. He's in a bad place right now." Kurt explained.

"Who? Blaine?" Sugar asked.

"No- Cooper."

"So he's choosing his brother over Glee?" Finn asked in astonishment and slight anger. "This is freaking Nationals we're talking about here!"

"It's called family loyalty, Frankenteen. You should try it sometime." Santana said as she rolled her eyes.

"A little harsh, Santana." Joe spoke up.

"Trust me- she wasn't." Quinn whispered.

"So what horrible, horrible thing happened to Cooper to warrant a vacation?" Mercedes asked.

"He didn't say." Kurt shrugged.

"Guys, they didn't say Blaine definitely won't make it to Nationals." Will spoke up holding up his hands to calm everyone down. "We'll just have an understudy for him in case he doesn't make it."

"I'll do it." Kurt spoke up. "It is my last competition."

"True, I mean, when has Kurt ever sang in a competition while he was in New Directions?" Tina asked.

"Okay, Kurt, you are officially Blaine's understudy." Will announced, smiling. 'I hope to God I didn't just make a mistake...'

XXX

The first thing Neal felt as he stirred was a mattress...then a pillow. Was he on a bed? He didn't remember a bed in the alley he was in. Had he been taken? His eyes fluttered open, his head was ringing, and his arm felt sore. He heard a toilet flush and sat up, clutching his head and groaning.

"Where am I?" He asked no one in particular.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty." Neal looked up to see Alex standing over him, arms folded and smirking.

"Alex?" Neal's brow furrowed in confusion. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"

"I saw someone attack you in an alley." Alex explained. She sat on the edge of the bed. "Luckily I was there to rescue you."

"Did you see who it was?" Neal asked.

"The guy was wearing a mask." Alex replied. "He was about six feet tall, muscle-y. He stabbed you with something."

Neal looked at his sore arm and found a small, reddish bruise forming on his bicep. "What do you think it is?"

"Well, do you feel any different?" Alex asked. "Other than the fact you were beat up."

"No..." Neal shook his head slowly. "I wonder if it's some sort of virus. Maybe I'll become synthetic later."

Alex looked both shocked and horrified. "So someone injected you with a virus in an alley and left you for dead?"

"Looks that way." Neal sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Ah, well. If I die, I die. At least I lived my life to the fullest."

"No regrets?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Just love." Neal joked. He laughed. "See what I did there?" Alex looked at him with confusion. "Katy Perry, Teenage Dream? Oh, never mind."

"So, what are you doing here in Cincy, anyway?" Alex asked.

Neal hesitated. Should he trust her? It's not like she'll take advantage of him, but still... "I'm looking for someone."

"Who- another unrequeted lover?"

Neal rolled his eyes. "Funny. But, no. Actually...he's my younger brother."

Alex was surprised. She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You have a brother?"

Neal nodded. "The FBI knows where he is so Mozzie is snooping around to see what he can find out. I'm meeting him in the alley tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Alex nodded to show she understood. "So...once you meet this brother, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Neal admitted. "I just want to meet him. Tell him I'm sorry for dragging him into this mess."

Alex did not know what to say to that, so she just nodded. 'Yeah...this is so gonna end badly.'

XXX

Blaine spent most of Friday in his room. He stripped the bedding off of his bed and propped the mattress up against the wall to use as a punching bag to vent out his anger and frustration. Cooper quietly walked to Blaine's room, leaned against the doorframe, folded his arms, and waited patiently until Blaine stopped and took a breath. Blaine took off his boxing gloves and noticed Cooper standing there.

"Is that my face you're imagining on that mattress?" He asked lightly.

Blaine sighed. "No...I know it's not your fault. I just...I was told once I have a track record of misdirected anger."

Cooper nodded. He had a sneaking suspicion of where it came from. "Let's talk."

"What about?" Blaine asked as he put the mattress back on his bed.

"Anything you want." Cooper shrugged. He stepped into the room. "I meant it when I said I want to get to know you better."

Blaine smiled fondly. "Okay."

Cooper beamed in delight. "All right, come on. I have food set up in the living room."

XX

The two brothers talked and ate and talked some more. For once, Cooper let Blaine do most of the talking and venting. Blaine told his brother all about his adventures since he met Kurt: his time in the Warblers, Kurt's time in the Warblers, Kurt's transfer back to McKinley, Blaine's own transfer, meeting Sebastian, Sebastian's stalking Blaine, Sebastian throwing a rock salt slushy in his eyes.

"He got away with it." Blaine said angrily. He slammed his fist on the armrest of the couch. "I just don't freaking get it: Kurt's dad is a freaking politician! Wouldn't the police care about an attempted assault of a congressman's son? I mean, if they care about random kids being kidnapped..."

"I know. You would think..." Cooper shook his head slowly. He was mad someone would hurt his brother like that! "But...I mean...I've seen what you did to that poor mattress. Why don't you just freaking beat him up?"

"His dad is a State Attorney. He'll just throw me in prison." Blaine shook his head slowly.

Cooper felt sympathetic for Blaine and guilty he wasn't there for any of that. "I'm so sorry. I should've been there."

Blaine smiled lightly at his brother. He was flattered and touched that he cared about him. Blaine didn't want Cooper to feel guilty, though. "It's okay. You're here now."

Cooper nodded. He was getting choked up. "Oh, now I'm emotional! That hardly ever happens! Quick, do something to make me criticize you!"

"Uh...go Hitler?" Blaine said with confusion.

Cooper stared at Blaine. "Seriously? That's all you can come up with?" Blaine waited for Cooper to finish. Cooper sighed. "Okay, that's better. Whoo!"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Funny. I would've thought you'd think those emotions would come in handy to use in scenes one day."

Cooper scoffed and laughed. "Touche, Blaine. Touche." He got up and started cleaning up the trash. Blaine stood up to help, when his phone rang. Cooper smiled. "Go ahead, loverboy. I'll finish cleaning."

Blaine smiled gratefully, walked out of the room and answered his phone. "Hey, Rachel, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing much." Rachel replied. "Um...so, Mr. Schue told us you might not be coming to Nationals."

"Uh, yeah. I will be there for Nationals. You can bet on that." Blaine replied. "My brother is just in a bad place right now...he needs the time away and he doesn't want to be alone."

Rachel nodded in understanding. "I understand. May I ask why Cooper's in a bad place?"

Blaine let out a long sigh. "He found out he's adopted. And on top of that, he didn't get the part in Transformers 4."

'...Seriously? Even I'm not that dramatic!' Rachel thought. "Well, I think it's sweet you're taking care of your brother."

"Thanks." Blaine smiled. "We actually had a long talk about each others' lives. I told him everything that went on these past few years."

"Ah. How did he respond to the Sebastian drama?"

"He was horrified and protective-mad." Blaine replied. "He felt guilty that he wasn't there for me, but...whatever. What could he have done about it? The police didn't do anything."

Guilt welled up inside Rachel. The thing is, the police didn't do anything, because nobody called the police...at Kurt's request. "Blaine, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, it's not your fault." Blaine sighed. "I just want for once for people who have done me wrong not get away with it. Do you know I was beaten half to death in middle school for being gay? I was put in the hospital with a badly bruised face, broken wrists, and two broken ribs. Those assholes got away with it!"

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Rachel whispered, her voice shaking. "That shouldn't happen."

"Yeah...thanks." Blaine replied. "Anyway, I'm sorry for being such a downer."

"No, it's okay. We're allowed to vent." Rachel smiled. Hmm. Should she tell him?

"Thank you, Rachel. I'm so lucky to have such great friends like you and the rest of New Directions." Blaine said, smiling. "You know, I haven't heard from my so-called Warbler friends since the incident. They never apologized. I'm just glad I have you guys. I know you will always have my back."

A lump rose to Rachel's throat. "Yeah. What are friends for?"

"Right."

Rachel cleared her throat. "Anyway, I don't want to keep you, so...I'll see you at Nationals."

"Okay. See you."

XXX

A couple of hours later, Cooper sat by himself on the couch watching a movie and eating popcorn. The movie was a scary one. The actor loves scary movies. They give him inspiration somehow. The movie ended, and Cooper turned off the TV. He stiffened in surprise when he saw a figure standing by an open window.

"Blaine? Is that you?" Cooper asked tentatively. He stood up and slowly turned around. The figure was too tall to be Blaine. The overhead light turned on, and the figure by the window revealed to be Neal.

"Boo." Neal deadpanned.

Cooper didn't know whether or not to scream or call the police. Instead, he swallowed and folded his arms. "I assume you're Neal."

"You assume correct." Neal replied. He looked Cooper up and down. "So...I guess I'm your brother."

"Biologically." Cooper remarked. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to meet you at least once." Neal replied sincerely. "I'm sorry I put you in this situation. I never imagined it would come to this."

Cooper studied Neal's expression. He looked sincere enough, but...he just had to be careful. "So, what exactly on the run for?"

"The guy who's after me- Agent Kramer, a dirty FBI agent- pressed a bogus charge against me. Apparantly, I'm being charged with public endangerment which is a load of crap." Neal explained with disdain. "He wants me to be his CI and pin a lot of crimes on me. It was either go to Kramer, or go to jail for the rest of my life. So...I ran."

Cooper nodded to show he understood. "Kramer must really want you if he's targeting two total and complete strangers to you." Neal looked confused. Cooper continued. "I have a younger brother, Blaine. He's just a kid with a life, friends, a boyfriend...I'm lucky that this whole mess didn't mess up our relationship. I don't want anything to happen to him."

"I promise I won't let anything happen to him. Or you." Neal said earnestly. "I'm gonna try to fix this."

"How?" Cooper raised an eyebrow.

"Well...if I don't surrender myself to Kramer or the FBI, you guys will be stuck here until Kramer gets to you." Neal explained. "So...I guess my only option is to turn myself in to the FBI."

"You'd do that?" Cooper asked apprehensively.

Neal nodded and sighed. "I know we don't know each other...but if something happens to you and/or Blaine and I didn't do anything to prevent it, I'll never be able to live with myself."

Cooper could see that Neal was being honest. However, he couldn't help but remember that he was a con artist. He had to be careful. He was about to say something, when they both heard a noise in the hallway.

"Coop?" Blaine called from the hallway.

Cooper looked towards the hallway to see Blaine's shadow creeping towards the room. He turned back to see that Neal had disappeared. 'What- no resolution or good-bye?'

Blaine stepped into the living room to see his older brother standing in the living room staring at the window. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah." Cooper cleared his throat and smiled. "I just thought I saw something. That's all."

"Oh." Blaine nodded. "Well, good-night."

"Good-night." Cooper replied. He started walking down the hall. "Hey, Blaine?"

"Hmm?" Blaine turned around.

Cooper pulled his brother into a tight hug. "You know I love you, right?"

Blaine smiled. "You could stand to mention it more."

Cooper chuckled and pulled away. "All right, let's hit the hay."

XXX

The next morning, Blaine got up early to get dressed and do his hair. He put on a simple red short sleeved polo shirt and blue jeans. He headed downstairs to the kitchen where Cooper was making breakfast. It was still dark outside, so the lights were still on.

"What are you doing already dressed and ready for the day so early?" Cooper asked. He was still in his pajamas.

"Old habits." Blaine shrugged and got himself some breakfast. It was around half past six am. The sky was starting to brighten with daylight.

"Ah." Cooper nodded. He sat there at the table picking at his breakfast. He spent half the night thinking over his very brief conversation with Neal. He debated whether or not to tell Blaine. It's not like it was that big a deal, and he didn't want to worry him. He decided to just go with it. "Blaine, I need to tell you something."

"Okay." Blaine put his spoon down and gave Cooper his full attention.

"Neal visited me last night." Cooper revealed. "He wanted to meet me at least once. We talked, and then he disappeared."

Blaine was surprised. "Uh...what did you talk about?"

"He told me why he's on the run...and that he'll turn himself in to keep us safe." Cooper replied.

"Do you believe him?" Blaine raised an eyebrow.

Cooper sighed. "I'm not sure. I want to, but...come on. The guy used to be a con artist. How do I know he's not acting?"

Blaine leaned forward and tried not to laugh. "Well...did he avoid eye contact?"

"No."

"Was he wearing earplugs?"

"No, I don't think so."

Blaine smirked. "Did he point his finger at you and yell loudly to be intense?"

Cooper let his arms drop to the table and glared at Blaine. "Really?"

Blaine laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't resist!" He sobered up. "But, then again, some people are pretty good liars, so it's hard to tell."

Cooper nodded. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Today is not a good day to be Neal Caffrey's brother."

Blaine nodded in sympathy. "Well, if he really was telling the truth...we'll be out of here by lunch."

"That's thinking positive." Cooper smiled. "Finish your breakfast. It's unhealthy not to."

They finished their breakfast in silence. They both headed to the sink to clean their dishes when the power went out.

"Ah, damn it." Cooper dropped his dishes in the sink. "It's probably the fuse box. You do what you can to clean up. I'll go check out the box."

Blaine nodded. "Okay." He continued washing the dishes. He walked to the counter to get a rag when he felt someone put a rag over his mouth and grab him from behind. He cried out and pushed his attacker off, whirled around, and punched him, knocking the attacker down. "Cooper!" Blaine yelled frantically. He ran towards the front door, which flew open revealing two people aiming their guns at Blaine. He gasped in horror and threw his hands up in surrender.

"Blaine?" Cooper worriedly walked back into the house from the back towards the kitchen. "Blaine!" A tall, burly man in his forties popped up in front of Cooper, grabbed him by the shirt, and pinned him against a wall. "Who are you? What did you do to my brother?"

"Shut up!" The man commanded.

"Blaine!" Cooper shouted fearfully. He tried looking past the man, but couldn't see anything.

"You make a sound and you and your brother die. Do you understand?" The man asked, pushing a gun to Cooper's face. "Do you understand?" Cooper nodded quickly.