A/N: Hey guys, sorry this chapter is so short, I wanted to get something to y'all now since I won't have much time to write this week. Hope you enjoy and thank you for your thoughts on Scott. We'll see what happens!

I don't own Glee.

Blaine was nearly out of his mind with worry. The rescue team had made it home almost thirty six hours ago and Kurt wasn't back yet. When he approached Thomas, he explained that Kurt and another member of the team had to stay behind for security reasons, but they should have been back by now. For several hours now, Blaine had been able to do nothing but pace in front of the main entry way into New Lima, scanning the forest beyond for any sign of Kurt. Marina, Santana and Brittany helped him keep vigil.

"I'm sure he's fine, Blaine," Santana reasoned. "Thomas said he would be back any time now."

"Yeah," Brittany added, picking her nails absentmindedly. "And Thomas is like, the smartest person here. Besides me, of course."

"And didn't he say that the other guy he's with is really experienced?" Marina added. "We already know that Kurt is capable of taking care of himself, so with someone else there with him, he's probably invincible."

Blaine shook his head. He knew the girls were just trying to help, but he couldn't shake the ominous feeling that something horrible had happened. That he would never see Kurt again, or if he did, he was wounded somehow, never to recover. He continued to pace, wringing his hands.

Santana and Marina looked at each other and shared a small, worried glance. Truth be told, they were worried about Kurt as well. Brittany didn't seem to have the same concern, and Santana hoped it was because she had more experience in New Lima and therefore had a better estimation that Kurt was okay. She and Brittany had just returned from a semi-successful scavenging trip. They were able to recover two generators, one of which actually had a bit of juice left in it. The engineering group seemed to be pretty impressed with their find.

Brittany was, as it turned out, a scavenging queen. While at first glance, she seemed ditzy and scatter-brained, she actually had an expert eye for what had value and what was trash. Santana figured it was because she had been doing it for so long, but really, it seemed to be something Brittany was born with. A gift of sorts.

"Well," Marina said, breaking the uneasy silence after a few minutes. "I've got to meet up with my team."

"This late?" Santana asked suspiciously. It was almost four in the afternoon.

"Yeah," Marina answered, a small embarrassed blush coming over her cheeks. "I still have training modules to complete."

Santana wasn't buying it. Marina probably could have gotten away with the vague explanation had she not turned beet red. Her little sister was hiding something. If it weren't for the situation with Kurt, she would have pursued it, but she decided the conversation could wait until tomorrow.

"Fine," Santana answered, noticing the whoosh of air her sister released upon doing so. "Just make sure you're back before dark."

Marina rolled her eyes but gave Blaine a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before she left. Blaine barely noticed.

"What if he can't get home? What if he's out there hurt somewhere?" he asked for what felt like the millionth time. He already knew the answer.

"Then Thomas and the team go back out and retrace their steps, you know that Blaine."

Santana hadn't meant to sound impatient but her own worry and Blaine's constant badgering were starting to grate on her nerves.

Blaine nodded wordlessly and continued pacing. Every minute that passed felt like an hour and he knew that if the sun went down without Kurt coming home yet, the residents of New Lima were going to have to work pretty hard to keep him from venturing out into the wilderness on his own.

It was nearly six o'clock in the evening when Kurt and Scott came in sight of New Lima, a day later than they were supposed to arrive. Kurt was tired and dirty and ready to be home. He missed Blaine and the girls and he felt like he could sleep for a day straight.

The incident with Scott hadn't left his mind for more than a few seconds since it happened. His guilt was nearly overwhelming and he could tell that Scott felt the same way.

God this would be so much easier if he were a jackass, Kurt thought to himself. But no, Scott had to be so damn likeable. It didn't matter though, what had happened was a huge mistake and there was no way he was going to let anything like that happen ever again. In fact, he briefly considered talking to Thomas to see if he could be reassigned on future missions just to be sure he was as far away from temptation as possible.

It pained Kurt that he even had to think in those terms. Why couldn't the fact that he was with Blaine simply be enough to keep him from thinking about Scott. Blaine should be enough. But there was something pulling Kurt to Scott that he didn't like. Something that made him feel out of control. And if it was one thing Kurt despised, it was feeling out of control.

Hence, Kurt's attitude towards Scott ever since the disaster, as Kurt began to refer to it in his mind, had been ice cold, to put it mildly. Really, Kurt just ignored him or shot him looks when Scott tried to make conversation. He knew he was being childish, that if he could be in control of his own emotions, he wouldn't have to be such a jerk to Scott. It pained Kurt to see the hurt look on Scott's face every time Kurt would respond to him with a simple, icy one-word answer, but he didn't see any other way to handle it.

"Home sweet home," Scott announced cheerfully, apparently giving Kurt one more chance to be reasonable. Kurt refused. Instead he soldiered on, and as soon as the main entry way came into sight, so did a worried, harried-looking Blaine Anderson. Despite his exhaustion, Kurt was thrilled to see him. When Blaine's eyes finally caught sight of him, he broke into a huge, relieved grin and broke into a run to meet him. Kurt began jogging to meet him halfway.

"You're back!" Blaine exclaimed, launching himself at Kurt with such force that it almost knocked him over. "I was so worried, I thought—"

"Blaine, you are going to worry yourself sick if you do this every time I'm a few hours late," he scolded with a playful smile. "But I'm glad to see you too."

The boys continued to chat, launching themselves into a private world as they held hands and walked back towards the gate.

They didn't notice Scott trailing behind them, respectfully giving them the space they needed. He tried not to think about the fact that the only people waiting for him to come home were his parents. Sure, he was grateful to still have both of them, it was so rare these days, but he was lonely for a companion. He wanted someone to run at him with open arms, someone who cared if he came home in one piece.

Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, he held his chin up as he walked back through the gate. He'd find someone eventually. He just had to remind himself that that someone was not going to be Kurt Hummel.