Hey guys :) This chapter is un-beta'd so i apologise if it's really shit. Like, I'm seriously sorry. As always, I hate the ending because I felt like I cut it off too early, but my laptop was playing up when I was writing this and so I didn't really have time to add more considering I wanted to get this up this side of midnight. And I have half an hour left. So, enjoy, and again - I'm sorry.

C xx


Lima, Ohio, had never been one of Kurt's favourite places in the world. In fact, for a good few years of his life it has been terrifying; there was high school, where homophobic Neanderthals were allowed to freely roam the halls and make Kurt's day-to-day life a living hell; then there were the homophobic assholes outside of school, such as the group of guys that Finn and Puck had gotten in trouble for beating the crap out of when they thought they'd gotten away with a snide comment about Kurt and his then boyfriend, Justin.

And that was why, when the opportunity reared its head just after Kurt finished college, Kurt had jumped at the chance to get out, alive. His first choice had obviously been New York, the bright lights of Broadway and the rich, high-society culture was something that had always enthralled him, but the six months he had spent there had been spent sharing an apartment with an excitable, pink-haired girl, Dinah, who Kurt was 99% sure was made of rubber by the way she bounded everywhere she went. Although Kurt had found Dinah's zest for life endearing at first, it soon got in the way of his writing and he had packed up and moved out, straight into the arms of Michael, a dashing young actor who Kurt had seen performing in an off-Broadway theatre not three weeks before on a night out alone away from Dinah and her rambunctious collection of friends.

It hadn't taken them very long to fall into bed together, both of them falling into what they had thought was love not long after. Kurt had felt he was living the dream; living in New York, halfway through his first novel whilst playing through his first novel whilst playing house with a gorgeous, blond-haired actor-boyfriend who supported his career choice. But when Kurt was starting to spend more time getting his book written, Michael had gotten... strange. Kurt would say he had been jealous, but the idea of his boyfriend being jealous of his work after being so supportive of him just sounded so ludicrous that he just dismissed it as their relationship fizzling out after only three months. That's what he'd told his father, anyway.

And so, Kurt decided on a fresh start; an incredibly fresh start. He could have gone back to Ohio, but Kurt was still shaken from his high school years and so his home state was ruled out, even though it meant moving away from his dad and Carole. Kurt decided that he needed his own space in a new location, and after much thought he'd turned his scrutinising eye across the country to LA. It was sun, sea, sex and space, all of which Kurt was looking forward to, and so he packed up and out of Michael's apartment and moved into a small flat with no roommate. It was daring: starting afresh somewhere new as an aspiring author with a low-paying job in a bookstore, and no roommate to have his back if he couldn't make the rent. Luckily Kurt had never been in that position, because he'd made sure he looked after the little money he earned to make sure that he never had to face that problem.

And when his book was finished, it took Kurt two months of meticulous editing and re-reading before summing up the courage to send it off. He sent it to a few agencies first, making sure that they thought it was worthy of being immortalised in print before he sent it off to the big guns, the publishers. That was how he'd met Scarlett; new to the team, she had been given Kurt's novel to read over rather given Kurt's novel to read over rather than one of their more esteemed clients, and she had instantly fallen in love with it. At work the following week she had expressed this to her bosses and had asked if she could take on his novel as her first project. They accepted her request - albeit with a little hesitation - and Scarlett and Kurt had been friends as soon as they'd met.

Scarlett had managed to boost Kurt's novel up the charts and into the eyes of several Hollywood directors, and just ten weeks after its release the book was a best-seller, and Kurt was starting to earn some serious cash. Everything had taken off from there, and although Kurt loved having his work appreciated, it was all just a little… daunting.

Which is why he was so damn excited to see his family again.


Mia Conway-Anderson had always loved LA; she grew up here, she went to school here and she had started her career here. LA was her home, it was where the majority of her childhood friends still lived, but most importantly, it was where her younger brother lived.

Mia and Blaine Anderson had been inseparable as children. The four years between them had gone pretty much unnoticed until Mia had gone to high school, and an eight year old Blaine had had to learn to fend for himself against the scary older kids – the ones who Mia had been able to scare off for him. For a few months they were just as close at home as they had always been, but eventually Mia's new workload and new friends started to eat up her free time and both siblings could feel their bond beginning to fray slightly. When Blaine went to high school it got even worse, because Blaine earnt himself his own new friends and his workload became just as bad. It wasn't until Blaine had graduated University that they'd been able to rekindle their close relationship again, but even so it still took them time. Mia was engaged to be married, but it was Blaine's being spotted by a producer's daughter – and therefore being introduced to and signed by said producer – during one of his performances in student bars that had made opportunities for them to spend together even slimmer.

Blaine had shot to fame shortly after Mia's wedding. It would have been sooner had Blaine not asked the record company to wait until after Mia's wedding to release his first single, but he'd wanted to be there for his sister and her husband, Richard, rather than sending his love and best wishes from across the globe.

Mia herself had had a taste of her brother's fame when he'd asked her to sing with him on his album, earning her a few singles on her own. But she chose to take a step back after her fourth single when she fell pregnant, deciding that she would rather raise her children at home than be jet-setting across the world and left the stardom to her younger brother. That was six years ago, and she was now a thirty four year old mother-of-three living in Washington, but that didn't stop her from being recognized.

Blaine grasped her hand as he led her towards the airport exit, Thad and Archie in tow, both Andersons holding back giggles as Archie carried Mia's blue-and-white polka dot suitcase out of the airport. By the time they reached the exit Blaine was bouncing along nest to Mia, telling her about all of the people he had met and the places he had been, turning back into the excitable puppy of a younger brother he'd always been, even though he was coming up to thirty. Mia recalled how he was even worse – if that was possible – around her children, his niece and nephews, because he thought that he could use their young ages as an excuse. The eldest of her three, Louise, was coming up to five, Jonah was three and five months, and baby Harvey had just turned two.

"How are the kids?" Blaine turned to his sister as they settled into his car, Thad sat opposite them with his phone in hand, as if being able to hear her thoughts.

"They're fine," Mia smiled proudly, her eyes alight as she spoke about her children. "They miss you, of course." Blaine grinned; he loved all three of them and he missed them constantly, but with being on different sides of the country visits were becoming few and far between. "Louise started Kindergarten last year," There was a slight hint of sadness in her voice as she began to recall all of the things their uncle had missed. "She told everyone about you on her first day. She was walking around the place saying, 'My Uncle Blaine is a famous singer and he lives in LA' all day!" Both of them laughed with tears in their eyes; Blaine's at how much he missed his niece and her antics and Mia's at the memory of when Louise's teachers had informed her of her daughter's boasting, with Thad's quiet chuckling opposite them going unnoticed. "Jonah's started nursery, too, but he doesn't boast like Louise does! He just plays with the other children. But that means it's just me and little Harvey at home now. I swear my children are growing up too fast!" Mia threw her hands up, laughing to herself.

"Richard's there too, right?" Was Blaine's reaction, his expression serious as he gripped his sister's hand. Mia seemed startled by his question at first, but whether it was because she couldn't believe what he was implying or that she didn't want to answer his question he wasn't sure. She didn't give him time to find out.

"Of course he is," Mia replied sharply, her reaction taking both Blaine and Thad by surprise. Thad watched her carefully over his phone, the light from the device illuminating his raised eyebrows, whilst Blaine flinched back slightly where he sat sideways on the seat, facing her. "I just meant because it only seems like yesterday we were bringing Louise home from the hospital and now she's in Kindergarten; it just seems too grown up for my little baby!" She shook her head slightly before looking up at her brother, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes on her face. "I'm sorry, I just get a little emotional sometimes. Bringing up three young children under five means I get hardly any sleep nowadays, and so I can get a bit emotional from time to time." She hesitated a few seconds before adding "Or 'touchy', as Richard says," with a hint of malice to her voice.

Blaine frowned at his sister as she stared down at the floor of the car; she always seemed so bubbly and cheerful whenever he saw her, but Blaine could tell that something was wrong, and it wasn't her supposed lack of sleep. He couldn't explain what he thought or why, but he just knew that there was something Mia wasn't telling him. And he was going to find out what it was before she went home.


"Kurt!"

Kurt stopped midstride on the pavement when he heard his name called out, the figure in black walking a few meters behind him stopping at the same time and turning away in an attempt to appear casual. Kurt hadn't heard that voice in person for three weeks and four days; he'd only been hearing the crackled version that came with talking on the phone. He looked up to see a slightly-older-than-middle-aged couple walking towards him hand-in-hand, and felt his eyes immediately begin to sting with tears.

"Dad!" Leaving the figure behind him, Kurt ran the short distance to where his father and step-mum were walking towards him. "Sorry," He laughed nervously when he nearly knocked Burt Hummel to the pavement with the force that he ran at him with, feeling his father's strong arms clamp around his shoulders a second later. Neither of them said much after that for a while, just embracing each other on the LA street with everyone still milling about around them as they proceeded with their business. Carole stood to the side, watching with a tearful smirk as both men tried to wipe away their tears before pulling apart. "Hi Dad," Kurt whispered when he finally came face-to-face with his father, laughing breathlessly at seeing his dad in just as bad a state as he was.

"Hey, kiddo," Burt smiled, trying to inconspicuously wipe away his last few tears. "How've you been?"

"Pretty fantastic, actually," Kurt beamed, remembering his step-mum's presence. "But how about we save the story-telling for when we're sat down? Hi Carole," He enveloped the shorter woman into a tight embrace, feeling himself choking back another set of tears as he did so. When they separated, all three of them were red-eyed from crying and it made for quite an amusing sight for each of them. "Where's Finn?" Kurt looked up and down the street, expecting to see a looming figure approaching, his broad shoulders cutting a clear path through the crowds as he walked, but the football player was nowhere in sight.

"He's going to be a little late," Carole explained with a sombre smile. It wasn't just Kurt who hadn't seen the lofty athlete for a while; where Kurt had managed to get back to Ohio for a few days last month, Finn hadn't been home for nearly four months due to training and games and such. Kurt didn't understand the way football worked, with all of the seasons and different leagues, and so he just accepted now that if Finn wasn't around it would be because of something football related.

"He won't be long," Burt added, seeing his son's slightly dismayed expression. "Maybe about half an hour or something." He shrugged his shoulders once and nodded, a gesture Kurt knew was his Dad's way of asking if he was okay with it. Kurt smiled and nodded at his father, watching his shoulder's relax in relief.

"And anyway, that gives us half an hour for you to tell us about all the fine men you've met since we last saw you!" Carole exclaimed, linking her arm with Kurt's and leading him towards the restaurant where they were having lunch as her husband rolled his eyes and fell into step next to her.

Forty minutes later, Kurt was happily discussing this season's fashion trends and giving advice to Carole on how to wear them when two vice-like hands gripped his shoulders. He froze in his chair, sure that was about to either cry or scream out from shock and fear, but instantly relaxed when he saw the huge grin on his step-mum's face. He looked up over his shoulders, sure that Finn had grown even more since the last time he had seen him, to confirm that it was in fact his step-brother before standing and pulling him into a tight hug. Finn was head and shoulders above Kurt, but that didn't stop either of them from being exceptionally close as brothers. Burt and Carole looked on with glazed eyes, admiring how well their sons got on and how much like actual brothers they behaved. Of course, if you asked either Kurt or Finn they would say that they considered the other as their actual brother.

"Hey Kurt," Finn grinned down at his step-brother as they stepped apart. "You look good. A bit thin, but good."

"I'll have you know I'm a perfectly healthy weight, Finn," Kurt raised an eyebrow as he sat back down, Finn moving over to greet his mother. "I'm just not as… stocky as those apes you call your teammates."

"Kurt…" Burt chided his son and gave him a quick glare as he rose from his chair to greet his step-son.

"No, it's okay, Burt," Finn chuckled as they hugged. "I've missed his sass these past few months!" Finn turned back to Kurt, who had now turned a nice shade of fuchsia, and reached out to ruffle his hair as he sat down himself.

"I wouldn't if you intend on keeping that hand," Kurt glared at him, his eyes flicking from Finn's approaching hand to his face warily. Finn stopped dead and a small glint of actual fear passed across his eyes before he laughed and retracted his hand.

"So, Finn, how's the football going?" Burt sounded almost desperate to talk about football after forty minutes of listening to his son and his wife discuss clothes and designers, and so Kurt and Carole decided to finish their conversation whilst the two men talked.

The whole lunch passed relatively quickly, Finn being the only one hungry enough to clear each plate of every single morsel of food visible to the naked eye as the others talked off their appetites. It had been too long for all of them to be able to sit in silence for more than a minute, their minds constantly filling with questions for another person sat at the table.

During the whole meal, a lone figure clad in black had been sat at the bar, absently drinking a bottle of water as he watched the group of four laughing and joking together in the middle of the restaurant. If it weren't for the dark shades he wore, one would be able to see how his bright blue eyes were automatically drawn to the porcelain-skinned author sat at the table. As the foursome stood to leave, each contributing to the bill despite the older man's insistence that he pay the whole sum, the figure rose from his seat, paying the bartender and leaving with a curt nod. He made his way outside and walked a few paces away from the restaurant. When Kurt exited with his family and began to head in the opposite direction, he hung back a few seconds before slowly starting after them.

"Finn, what are you doing?" Carole scowled at her son as he looked over his shoulder for what seemed like the hundredth time since they had left the restaurant, resulting in him bumping into an innocent passer-by.

"There's some dude following us," Finn hissed, glancing over his shoulder again. "He looks really shifty." All three of them felt their blood run cold, and Kurt could see Burt's jaw tighten and his fists clench in his jacket pockets.

"Don't be silly, Finn," Kurt attempted to sound calm, but his voice was audibly higher than usual. "You're just being paranoid." He waved the football player off, feeling his heart rate quicken in his chest.

"No, I'm not," Finn persisted. "He was in the restaurant when we were, he left when we did and he's been following us ever since. Every time I look at him I catch him looking at us and he looks away. Sometimes he pretends to browse in a shop window, but he's definitely following us."

"He's right, kid," Burt's gruff voice made him jump, and he realised that he and Carole had been put in between the two men as they took on their protective roles. "There's some jerk all in black following us." He slipped his arm around Carole's shoulder, the gesture having no effect on her terrified expression.

Kurt risked a glance over his shoulder and saw the figure they were all talking about, but rather than looking away as Finn had described he merely nodded curtly. Kurt almost burst out laughing when he realised, clamping his hand over his mouth. Finn and Burt both mistook it for shock, and Finn placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Kurt let out a muffled laugh, but Finn must have thought it was a sob as he protectively brought his body closer to Kurt's smaller figure.

"It's okay, Kurt," Finn reassured him through slightly gritted teeth. "We won't let the bastard near you or Mum, okay?"

"You idiots!" Kurt laughed, stopping and shrugging Finn's hand off his shoulder. He stared at the shocked expressions of his family, looking over his shoulder to see the figure stop abruptly, eyeing them carefully. Kurt looked between his family and the black-clad man before signalling for him to come over. Finn hissed at him to stop, that Kurt didn't know what he was doing, but the chestnut-haired writer just rolled his eyes. "Dad, Finn, Carole," Kurt turned to the man who was now next to him. "This is James; he's the bodyguard Scarlett insisted I bring along with me. He's pretty harmless… well, he is in these circumstances anyway; he's not going to hurt us."