Some of you have asked what this story will be about compared to "A Song For Cordelia" and I know I've been keeping it under wraps.

"One Of The Good Guys" will be more plot driven than the first one and I will focus on two plots. New Direction will reunite in order to help Sam, and together they will uncover what really happened to him.

The other plot will be centeret around the new director for "Cordelia" - also known as "The Director From Hell."

Enjoy ;)

Chapter 4 - Breaking Down The Walls

The sterile smell of hospital got stuck in Blaine's nose the minute he and Mercedes stepped inside South Valley Community Health Center. It made him hesitate for a split second. He had never been crazy about hospitals. It reminded him of the attack he experienced as a teenager; a memory he didn't appreciate right now to be honest. He was tired to the bones. Despite all good intentions he had failed to get a good nights sleep. And the few hours he did manage to get had been nothing but nightmares about a faceless Sam, screaming in pain as he got beaten up over and over again.

Mercedes led the way through multiple hallways and mechanical doors until they reached the unit where Sam was hospitalized.

A skinny looking woman with a blank expression on her face was standing next to a coffee machine. Her blond hair was graying at the temples and her shoulders were slouching as if she carried the weight of the world on them.

"Hi, Mrs. Evans," Mercedes said and let go of Blaine to hug the woman.

The tired face lit up and Blaine discovered that underneath the marks of endless hours of hardship, Sam's mom looked beautiful.

"Oh, Mercedes, I didn't see you there. Thank you so much for coming today." The two women exchanged a look, saying more than thousand words and suddenly Blaine felt like an intruder.

But then Mrs. Evans noticed him. "Oh, you must be Blaine," she said mildly and reached out a hand .

"I am," he answered and offered a small smile, not sure what to make of himself. "I'm so happy to meet you. I just wish it had been under different circumstances."

She nodded. "Me too, but Sam needs a friend more than ever and he has always talked very highly about you, Blaine. I really appreciate that you took the time to fly all the way out here."

Blaine felt the pressure build from all sides. Somehow a lot of people firmly believed that he would have a magic touch with Sam. But what if he didn't? "Sam's a great guy and I think he needs to hear that," Blaine heard himself say, hiding whatever insecurity he felt.

Mrs. Evans smiled at him and squeezed his arm. "Why don't the two of you grab a cup of coffee and then we can sit down a talk for awhile before you go visit Sam."

Blaine nodded relieved. Coffee would do him good and then maybe he'd even come up with something brilliant to say to Sam.

"How is he today?" Mercedes asked as they all sat down at a small table in an empty television room.

Sam's mom sighed and let her fingers follow the edge of the coffee cup in circles. "He was in a lot of pain last night and he refused to take any pain medication. But his leg was killing him and one of the nurses talked him into taking something anyway. He is more swollen today and he doesn't say much. I have cleared both of you with the staff, and as long as he is stable you're both free to come and visit."

"What about his siblings. Are they coming too?" Blaine asked

Mrs. Evans shook her head. "Stacey's afraid of flying without an adult and Stevie has only had his drivers license for two months. There is no way I'm trusting him with a ride all the way from San Francisco with his sister. I know they want to see their brother really bad. I just don't see how that's possible right now."

Blaine pointed his lips and then narrowed in on Mercedes. "Why don't we ask Puck? I'm sure he would love a road trip, don't you?"

Mercedes put her coffee down and nodded energetic. "What a great idea. I'll call him right away. Both he and Artie are dying to do something." She got up and walked away with the phone pressed to her ear.

"Mrs. Evans," Blaine said nervously as they were left alone. "Is there anything in particular you want me to tell Sam? Or are there any topics I should avoid? I don't really know what he needs the most right now and truth be told I feel so lost in this."

Sam's mom placed her fragile hand on top of his wrist across the coffee table. "He will try to send you away and he will do his best to convince you that he can handle this on his own. But don't believe a word of it. He is very embarrassed about the entire situation …"

"Embarrassed?" Blaine interrupted. "But why? He was the one who got beaten up."

"He's embarrassed that he has put himself and us in such a delicate situation. Anything you can get him to share is progress. The police know very little about the guys that attacked him and more importantly, we don't know how much money he owes those guys; or if they will come back for him. So the more information the better."

Blaine slouched in the chair. "I lost track of him, you know," he said unhappy. "We used to talk a couple of times a week and now we haven't been in touch for about 3 or 4 months. I should have known something wasn't right."

"It wouldn't have made a difference, Blaine. Mercedes knew about it and I knew about it, and he still wouldn't let us help him. But now he has to. It's his only option. We just have to make him realize that."

Mercedes returned with a huge smile on her face. "Both Puck and Artie are up for the drive Mrs Evans, so if you just give them a time and place, they will get your children.

"Really?" Mrs. Evans put a hand to her lips and the strong woman turned teary eyed. "I had no idea so many people cared about my son."

"Are you kidding?" Blaine said with raised eyebrows. "Sam has an entire glee club that cares. We may have split up years ago and we may live all across the country now, but I don't know anybody who wouldn't stand up for Sam."

Mercedes thought about it. "Maybe it's time for a McKinley reunion," she said. "Do you think people would come? I mean everybody has work and obligations now."

"I just know they would," Blaine answered convinced. "And once Sam's home from the hospital he will need friends around him, and we could ..."

Mrs. Evans furrowed her brows by the last statement. "Blaine, there is something you should know. Sam have been drinking heavily the last couple of months and he will need to go to a rehab facility once he's recovered physically."

Blaine opened his mouth to object, but then he closed it again, utterly confused. Nothing seemed to fit with the Sam he knew. Where had this amazing guy turned wrong?

"Did you know about this?" Blaine's eyes begged for the truth as he turned to Mercedes.

"I suspected it," Mercedes said carefully. "But I didn't know for sure, and there was no way he would have told me."

All the brokenness between the three of them bundled up in Blaine's stomach, but then he realized that the two women were looking to him for help and comfort. He straightened up and gave them the most reassuring smile he could muster. "I do believe it's time to call "New Directions" and get everybody to help. We're going to beat this and help Sam on his feet again."

Somewhere along the way Blaine's imagination had tortured him with horrible, exaggerated images of Sam wired up to different life-supporting devices with tubes everywhere. He knew it was hardly the truth, but it still surprised him when he found Sam lying normally in the bed with his back to him. There was nothing uplifting about the room except for a single bouquet of flowers at the bed stand and Blaine realized he hadn't brought anything at all.

Sam turned around slowly as he heard the footsteps behind him. His face was bruised and swollen, the right eye was almost shut close and his bottom lip was stitched up. The lack of recognition or spark in the eye left to see threw Blaine on the spot.

"Hey stranger. Long time no see," Blaine managed to say in a poor attempt to start the conversation light.

Sam turned away again. "Blaine, what are you doing here? You don't have to be here."

His words were slurring due to the swollen lips and his voice was rusty. Blaine stepped closer until he reached the end of the bed. Underneath the duvet the outline of a cask around Sam's foot showed. "I'm checking up on a very good friend of mine, like it or not," he stated calmly.

Sam didn't make eye contact. "I'm fine. It's just a couple of bruises."

"It looks like more than a couple of bruises to me."

Sam sighed, moaning a bit by doing so. The broken ribs obviously made it hard for him to breathe properly. "Look, I appreciate that you've come all the way. But honestly, you'd be better off in New York. I'm not good company anymore and I can work this out by myself. So, please leave."

Blaine took a chair and placed it next to Sam's bed. Sam didn't have to look at him, but at least they were closer and his face would be easier to read than his back. "I'm not leaving, Sam, and I don't believe for one second that you can handle this by yourself. I think you need friends, more than ever. And I would be the shittiest friend if I abandoned you now," Blaine said quietly.

Sam didn't respond and Blaine chose to take it as a good sign. "Does it hurt a lot?" he asked.

"No."

"No pain in your chest or in your foot ... at all?"

"Nope"

Blaine nodded. "You are going to do this the hard way, aren't you."

"Yes."

"Do you care to tell me what happened?"

"No." Sam's eyes still didn't connect with Blaine. He just kept staring out of the window as if he tried to will Blaine to leave. Like an ostrich stubbornly burying it's head in the sand, wanting to vanish from the face of the earth.

But Blaine wouldn't let him. "Is it true that you owed the attackers money? That's at least what the police seem to believe," he said.

Sam blinked. "I know their theory. They've already been here. But they don't know shit and I'm not telling them anything. They are not in a position to help me anyway."

"Don't you want these guys to pay for they've done to you?" Blaine asked curious.

"Well I'm not pressing charges if that's where you're heading," Sam snared, finally looking at Blaine.

"Because you owe them money?"

Sam got angry. "Blaine, give it up! I don't want you or anybody else to get involved. I told you, I can handle this. This is way over your head and I'm telling you to leave me the fuck alone!"

Blaine's heart was pounding in his chest but he didn't budge and Sam was the first to look away again.

"But you still owe them money, right?" Blaine let the question hang in the air for a moment. He was determined to get Sam to answer that one question. "Sam, not talking to me isn't going to help you. They might come after you again, you know."

"Well they are not going to get to me as long as I'm here in the hospital, are they?" Sam's voice was still rough and hostile, but something in his bruised face started to cave, like a dike cracking at it's edges right before a flood pushes through.

"Sam," Blaine said softly and moved closer, "what about your family? Could they be in danger?"

Sam's eye found Blaine once more but instead of anger, fear now seeped through his entire appearance. "I don't know," he whispered. "I don't know what they are capable of. I'm sure they have bigger fish to fry than me. I just ..."

He trailed off but Blaine just gave him time. The internal fight in Sam ran over his face like shadows shifting in changing weather.

"It's all I can think of," Sam finally said. "Are my loved ones going to live in fear until I can pay the money back? I've put them through enough grief as it is. I'm breaking my dad's heart by the minute and I don't know how to look Stacey and Stevie in the eyes anymore. They've always looked up to me and now I'm disappointing them in the worst way possible."

"Hey, you're not disappointing anybody," Blaine objected. "Why would they think any less of you just because you owe some money. It may not have been your smartest move, but it's not the end of the world."

Sam's chin quivered. "Blaine, there are things about me you don't know. Things I would never be able to tell you. And I'm not innocent in this. Not by far."

"What are you talking about, Sam? I'm sure whatever you have done or whatever problems you are facing there is help to get. No problem lasts forever. There is always a solution. I'm sure if you just told me, I could help you."

"I can't, Blaine."

Blaine pressed his lips tight together. He had to get something from Sam today, but he didn't want to push him much more than he'd already done. "You don't have to tell me everything, Sam, but I have to know how much money you owe."

Sam closed his eyes and tears found their way through the swollen eyelid. Blaine moved closer and grabbed his friends hand. "You have to trust me buddy and let me help you. Not for my sake, but for your families safety."

Sam nodded and took a deep breathe. "I borrowed $10.000, but they've doubled it because I couldn't pay them back fast enough."

"That is insane! How can they get away with business like that?"

"It happens all the time. LA is packed with loaners who will kill you without hesitation if it would benefit them in any way. They are making seriously big money out of complete assholes like me. I'm telling you, LA is a fucked up city."

"Can't things like that be reported to the police?"

"No. It's not their business. And if you ever pressed charges against guys like those, you wouldn't survive the day."

Blaine swallowed. He couldn't believe Sam had actually gotten himself into so much trouble. And Sam was right about one thing; this was way over Blaine's head, and it scared the shit out of him, but he couldn't show how shaken he was. He had to be strong.

"Okay. We'll deal with this on our own," he concluded with a shiver.

"Blaine, I'm not getting you involved. It's really sweet of you to try and help me, but there is no way I'm letting you near those assholes."

"And how exactly are you going to do this without me?" Blaine asked firmly. "What is your plan, Sam? How are you going to raise $20,000, if not more, once you get out of here? How will you protect your family while you're here, crippled and beaten up?"

Sam hid his head in the crook of his elbow while tears streamed freely down his cheeks. "I don't know ... I don't know," he whispered hoarsely.

"You have to let us help you," Blaine said intensely. "We are here for you, Mercedes and I, Kurt, Artie and Puck. We are here to catch you and I promise you, that none of us think any less of you. There are still things for you to do in this life, Sam. Things that only you can do and there is a future out there, waiting for you no matter how difficult everything looks right now."

Sam squeezed Blaine's hand, like he was clinging to the hope Blaine tried to make him see.

"You once said told me, when I was in my deepest despair, that I was one of the good guys," Blaine continued. "It meant the world to me at the time, and now I'm saying it back to you. Sam, you're one of the good guys. Not because you don't make bad decisions, but because of your compassion. I've never met anyone who recognize or react to the needs in the world like you. So don't let your confidence go down on this. Fight for a new beginning. And when you're too tired to fight, then let me help you. Let Mercedes help you. We'll fight for you,"

Sam didn't say anything, but Blaine could tell he was listening. "Sam, I need the names of those guys and a phone number."

"No, Blaine, please."

"Look, I'm not going to approach them without the money."

"But where will you get that kind of money?" Sam asked desperately.

"I'll figure something out, and I promise I won't rob a bank or anything."

Sam didn't respond to the joke. Instead he found a focus point somewhere far away and his face went blank and numb as he spoke. "The leader of the gang is called Joseph," he finally whispered. "He rules a small area around the bar where I worked. He's a small fish in a big sea of crooks, but he means business. You'll have to call him and arrange a meeting. Make sure to agree on the amount of money you are going to pay them. They'll try to trick you any way they can." Sam's good eyes found Blaine and he leaned closer as the intensity grew in his next plea. "Don't go alone, Blaine. Take Puck and a couple of other guys with you."

"I promise," Blaine said with big eyes.

Sam exhaled with a moan and leaned back in the bed again. "And another thing."

"Yes?"

Promise me that you will let me pay you back somehow. I'm not giving you a phone number until you swear. I don't know how long it will take me, but I have to do it. Do you understand?"

Blaine nodded slowly. "I promise, Sam, but I also promise not to beat you up if you can't pay up on time. The worst I could do was to force you to play in "Sound Of Seduction" for a couple of years … or ten."

For the first time there was a hint of a smile on Sam's bleeding lips. "Well, it seriously wouldn't be the worst kind of punishment."

With big difficulty Sam got a hold on his phone from the bed stand and handed it to Blaine. "Joseph's listed in my contacts. Insist to only talk to him if someone else answers the phone."

"I'm gonna get a nurse to take a look at those lips again," Blaine said and took the phone with shaking hands.

Sam touched the wound. "Man, it opens all the time."

"I'm going to check up on your mom as well," Blaine said. "Can I tell Mercedes to come in?"

Sam's expression faltered. "No. I can't talk to her."

"Sam, you're breaking her heart when you do this. She loves you just as much as you love her. That hasn't changed.

"But her heart will break even worse when she eventually realize that I'm not worth all the trouble."

"Sam."

"I'm not going to change my mind about this, Blaine. I've given you a lot today, but this I cannot do. Please … tell her to move on."

Blaine walked towards the door with a heavy heart. "See you later," he said on his way out.

"So you will come back?" The words were loaded with a fragile hope as Sam's eye focused on his friend by the door.

"I'll be here for at least a week Sam, and I'll visit you as much as you want me to. And if you don't want me to, I'll visit you anyway," Blaine said firmly.

"And what if I kick you out," Sam said, trying not to smile too much.

"Then I'll sneak in here when you're asleep."

"You're out of your mind, Anderson!"

"Says the one who has gotten himself beaten up."

"Touche, brother of another mother," Sam said as his eye closed in exhaustion.

After Blaine had fetched a nurse he was finally able to meet up with Mrs. Evans and Mercedes again. His legs could hardly carry him and it felt like he had been caught up in a battle, far more difficult than he had imagined. He was exhausted and overwhelmed and it wasn't until now he truly realized how much he had been holding himself together.

The girls just hugged him and gave him time before they asked him anything.

"Did you get him to talk, Blaine?" Mrs. Evans finally asked.

"I did," Blaine said with a nod and dropped down into one of the chairs. "I've got a name and a phone number. Sam has agreed to let me raise the money somehow and set up a meeting. But we'll have to get around $25.000 to cover all expenses.

Mrs. Evans rubbed her hands in despair. "I had no idea it was that kind of money," she said heartbroken. "We still live from paycheck to paycheck with all the medical bills my husband gets and ..."

Blaine put a calming hand on the woman's small shoulder. "We'll think of something, Mrs. Evans. Mercedes and I will contact those who knew Sam from Glee-club. We will pull this through one way or another."

"But how?" she asked and looked to Blaine for reassurance.

"Leave it to us," Blaine said and pulled the shaking woman in for hug. His impulse to protect her kicked in full force. Mercedes joined them and rubbed Sam's mother on the back with soothing moves. Then she caught Blaine's eyes and with no words spoken she asked the question that Blaine had dreaded answering since he left Sam's room.

He shook his head with a sad expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Cedes," he whispered. "He's not ready yet."

She nodded with misty eyes and pulled herself together. "I understand," she said. "I'll just give him some time, then he and I will be fine, right?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Blaine responded. He could not break her heart just yet.

He let go of the two women. "If you'll excuse me," he said and got up on shaky legs. "I need to talk to Kurt. I really need to talk to Kurt now."

Then he stumbled through a door into a deserted hallway, leaned against the wall and slid down on the floor. He pulled out his phone and called Kurt.

"Hey beautiful," Kurt said with a soft voice as he picked up.

"Hey," Blaine said

"Are you okay, Blaine?"

"No, not really."

"Tell me all about it, baby. I'm here."

See you again Sunday ;)

Love Melissa