For once, there was silent in the court room. No one knew exactly what to say. Then again, their parents had probably taught them that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Mr. Buchanan's parents obviously hadn't taught him that. Blaine didn't really look at anything in particular, but he definitely wasn't looking at the screen, or George, or the Judge, or Mr. Buchanan. He just looked like a normal high school student, bored in the middle of a lecture. He rubbed his sweaty palm on his slacks, scratched at his ear and took a deep breath in and out. "You're all silent. Don't you know that's not even the worst of it?" George asked the jury. He put in tapes, one after another. Each attack was different, each more heart breaking than the previous. All Kurt could think about during each video was stop him, George! But they kept coming. Until the last tape. January third, two thousand eleven.

"There is a bit that isn't taped on here," Blaine prefaced. "My friend Kurt had just gone home, and I was watching him drive away, out on my walkway. It was pretty slippery. Mr. Buchanan came out after Kurt had driven away and I was walking back inside, and he shoved me, and I slipped on the walk, and hit my head pretty hard. He then proceeded to pick me up, as if it had been an accident to any witnesses, and then he took me inside." Blaine took a deep breath. "And if you are squeamish, you will want to cover your eyes."

Kurt's eyes widened, looked up, and saw the angle of the camera was rather high. The picture was perfectly stable, and then Kurt realized something that nearly made him sick. It's a security camera…he's always being watched. He shook his head and turned his attention to the silent movie.

Blaine held the back of his head as he walked inside in front of Mr. Buchanan. Once the door closed behind them, Mr. Buchanan shoved Blaine against the wall, and started to violently gesticulate toward him, and the door. Blaine kept his hand against the back of his head as he lowly shook it. Mr. Buchanan didn't let up with the verbal assault until George came over to them and grabbed his boss by the shoulders. Mr. Buchanan turned around, and his watch connected with the side of George's head. The butler fell to the side and put pressure on his wound. Mr. Buchanan had a new verbal victim. Blaine struggled to push himself up. Kurt noticed his mouth get wider and louder looking, until Mr. Buchanan turned away from George and back to him. Both stood, facing each other in a tense silence, until Mr. Buchanan's fist flew away from him and torpedoed into Blaine's stomach.

Again.

And again.

And again.

And aga-

That's when Kurt wished he had covered his eyes.

Blaine's stomach gave out and the several course dinner ended up down Mr. Buchanan's front.

Kurt gasped loudly over the entire group. "Oh my goodness!"

The Warblers stood up and began shouting.

The jury spoke to each other, but not loud enough for Kurt to hear them.

"Order! Order!"

"Fucking pig! You're sick!"

"Oh my goodness…"

"This is the kind of scum running America?"

"Order!"

"Oh my goodness…"

"ORDER! Or this may be deemed a mistrial!" The court quieted at the threat. Kurt looked at the screen, the end of the video. Blaine had collapsed back on the ground. Mr. Buchanan was no longer on screen, and Pamela filled the spot instead, kneeling in front of her son and George, who was slowly coming to, though it was apparent that he was bleeding. Time was frozen, but Blaine was not. He was shaking on the witness stand, as if experiencing a case of hypothermia. He couldn't even stand up and walk back to the table without George helping him up and guiding him. When he sat back down in front of Kurt, Pamela reached over and put her hand on his knee, but it was George who wrapped an arm around him and held him close enough to whisper into his ear, not instructions of a lawyer, but words of comfort like a…

"The prosecution rests, your honor."

Blaine's shaking failed to cease. George needed to let go of Blaine to get his argument ready for the closing statement, so Kurt reached forward and put his hand on Blaine's shoulder, and rubbed his thumb back and forth, back and forth over it. "Kurt…" He looked up and saw Blaine's hand try to grab his own. He leaned forward even more, so Blaine and he could comfortably hold hands in the court room. The flashes went off every few seconds, but neither of them cared for anything else at this point, just the soft touch of the hands.

"Mr. Buchanan, if you'd like to excuse yourself to compose yourself, feel free," Judge O'Conner suggested. Blaine nodded, and stood up, but only with the help of George and Kurt. The reporters and their cameramen jumped on the shot of Blaine in a near trance like state, walking out of the courtroom by the aid of his attorney and boyfriend. All eyes were on the trio as they made that long walk, twenty feet down the center aisle. Kurt looked toward the Warblers when they passed them, and they just shook their heads in absolute disbelief at the drastic transformation of their soloist. Fifteen minutes ago, he had been dancing all over the courtroom and on Mr. Buchanan's table. Now, he couldn't even walk by himself.

George and Kurt set Blaine down on the ground just outside the courtroom. Both knelt down, but George really made sure that Blaine didn't fall over. "I'm sorry, Blaine…I shouldn't have showed those clips. Not all at once, and not in front of you." His voice was quiet and comforting.

"No…it…it was needed. I'm j-just glad that p-p-people will finally see him f-for who he really is, even at m-my expense. I mean…if he did this to a grown kid, then…then what would he do to a baby?" George nodded, then reached out and rested his hand against Blaine's forehead. The boy closed his eyes and Kurt was sure that he saw a slight smile appear on his lips, if only for a second, and his shaking diminished. Kurt noticed a connection between them, until anything he'd ever seen. He started to walk down the hallway to get Blaine some water, and as he back away, he started to notice something else. Their profiles, their faces, their features.

The same.

It was as if Blaine was looking into a mirror of the future. They had the same tiny grin, and the same smile when wide. Their eyebrows were prominent on both of their foreheads. George's hair was a salt and pepper black and gray, just as Kurt presumed Blaine's would be eventually. Even their style of glasses was the same. The only real difference he saw was their heights, and their eyes. George's were a bright blue, while Blaine's were that mysterious golden color. The realization hit Kurt like a slushie in the face. He cupped his hand over his mouth and back away so quickly he nearly fell over himself. He ran into the bathroom and just looked at his bewildered expression for a few moments. He splashed cold water on his face, and then once he'd dried it off, he took another few paper towels and soaked them in cold water for Blaine. When he left the bathroom, George had disappeared inside for his closing statement, but Blaine was lying on the cool ground. When he heard Kurt's footsteps echo through the hall, he picked his head up just centimeters to see who it was. Kurt knelt down in front of him now, dabbing the cool towel on the boy's face.

"Did you and your dad have a nice chat?" he asked with a curious smile. Blaine raised his eyebrows, and his eyes looked tired, but he smiled.

"You figured it out too?"

"I don't know why it took me this long. You two look so much alike." He slipped off Blaine's glasses to dab around his eyes. The boy closed his eyes as if he could fall asleep. "You're so wonderful. How did I get a boyfriend as strong and courageous as you?" Blaine's face contorted into an expression of confusion, but he kept his eyes closed as Kurt dabbed his face.

"Strong and courageous? I just had a nervous breakdown slash panic attack. I can't even really sit up. I needed two people to carry me out. I'm pretty weak, Kurt. You're the strong one here."

"You weren't bullied at your old school, were you?" Blaine stopped for that moment to open his eyes and look at the intricate ceiling, and then at Kurt. "It was your…'dad' that forced you out. That was the bullying going on. There was so much going on at home that you were sent to Dalton just to get out of his sight."

"You're a great detective, Kurt. How'd you figure that out?" Kurt smiled inwardly toward himself.

"Well, you did say that our situations were a little different. Plus, you never really said how you were bullied, or who did it. Your behavior in your own home also sent up a red flag. You were so nervous, so I knew something was going on. You didn't run, like you said when we rest met, at least not entirely. You were chased out." Blaine closed his eyes once more. Kurt watched him for a few moments, just listening to the sound of his breathing. "What are you thinking?"

"It's been quite a day. I would much rather be at regionals. If I hadn't sung that song that almost got us thrown out, I probably would have fainted." Kurt chuckled, but Blaine's face showed nothing but seriousness.

"You need to listen to me more," Kurt said as he started to stroke Blaine's back and shoulder. "You're quite pale…do you feel sick?"

"I just need some water, to drink." Kurt heard some stirring in the courtroom, and the first person out was George, looking a little panicked as well as he looked around for the two of them just before he knelt down in front of Blaine once more, this time with a bottle of water. Blaine pushed himself up carefully, and held the bottle to his lips. "Is the jury out to decide the verdict?"

"Yes. I don't know how long it will take, though. I hope not very long. If we've made our case well enough, they shouldn't even have to go out to deliberate…but protocol, you know? How are you feeling?" Blaine took a deep breath and shrugged.

"Well…I'm still nervous. Even if we get the verdict we want, my whole life is going to change. I don't want to lose Kurt…" The boy looked toward Kurt with pleading, painful eyes. "He matters too much." Kurt tried to smile, but it ended up distorted because of the tears forming behind his eyelids. They gripped hands, but that was the extent of their contact with George right in front of them. They were too busy gazing into each other's eyes to notice the smile on George's face. Other people from the courtroom started to file out into the hallway. The Warblers immediately went over to the trio, but Kurt could tell by their awkward postures that they didn't know how to act

"Hey guys," Blaine said, smiling up at them.

"How can you still be smiling? Goodness, Blaine, you were just ripped to pieces! I wish I could smile after that. I would be crying in the bathroom," Trent said, speaking over the rest of the group.

"If things need to get worse before they get better, then so be it. Plus I'm surrounded by my favorite people." Blaine smiled weakly at all of them and took another sip of water

"I should have known your dad wasn't your dad. I mean, you look nothing alike!" Blaine smiled and looked away from the group as he drank. Kurt caught a glimpse of a photographer and reporter out of the corner of his eye and gave them a glare. "Why are they even here? Aren't there like…regulations against reporters in the courtroom?"

"It depends on the reporter. These people have paid thousands to get into this trial. It deals with a state official, so naturally people will want to get in on the real dirt. It's just…it's just really dirty work because it involves you," George said toward Blaine.

"A minor." George nodded. "It sucks…but I'm just glad you all are here."

"Misery was great. I can't believe we did that!" Thad interjected.

"Well, we didn't get a chance to perform it at the competition, so…"

"Your…dad looked so pissed!"

"We're going to be on national TV!" They all laughed, and the color seemed to return to Blaine's face when he smiled.

George was correct when he said that if they made their case well, the jury wouldn't be out long. When everyone was called back into the room, Blaine's face suddenly paled once more. Kurt felt his heart break. He couldn't stand to see Blaine in such bad shape. He was scared of the people, when he was used to singing in front of auditorium's full of people. Either way, he was able to push himself up onto his feet, and walk in by himself, though George kept a very close watch on him until he was seated in his chair next to Pamela. The room was restless, murmuring to each other, walking back to their seats and watching everyone else do so. The jury was filing in slowly. Kurt glanced over at Mr. Buchanan, who was, for once in his life, looking less than confident. He wrung out his hands, and Kurt swore he saw beads of sweat dampening his brow. His fate was once again in the hands of the voters, and for the first time in a long time, his odds were looking less than positive. Judge O'Conner looked toward the jury.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?"

"We have your Honor." She then turned toward Mr. Buchanan.

"Will the defendant please rise?" Mr. Buchanan did, so quickly his chair tipped back, but didn't fall over. "What is your verdict?"

"We find the defendant, Senator Thomas Buchanan-"

And that's when Blaine fainted into George's lap.