Hi Everyone!

I'm sorry for the long wait, real life keeps me busy and I don't have too much time for my stories. But here is the new chapter, a longer one, I hope you like it.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story!

Kurt tried to shut out the annoying beeping sound coming from somewhere around him. He hated that sound. It brought back too many horrible memories and it made him more worried about his son. Danny was sleeping peacefully beside him. He had been through a long surgery and dozens of tests before being brought to this room and left alone with Kurt. Although the doctor had reassured Kurt that it was just the normal process, the heart monitor's annoying sound didn't give him a second of peace. He couldn't stop listening to it and it drove him crazy. Was it fast enough? What if Danny's heart was beating too slowly? What if something happened to him and Kurt couldn't call for help in time?

He sighed and tightened his grip on Danny's hand. He had to remind himself that Danny's life wasn't in danger. Well, not until he was here in the hospital. His injuries would heal with time and he would return home soon. But what would happen after that? Kurt had no idea.

He wasn't stupid enough to believe that Ethan wouldn't try to hurt them again. He couldn't trust that man, not even if he had promised Kurt to leave him and Danny alone if he broke up with Blaine. He was evil. He had broken Danny's arm, he had starved him, he had kept him captive for weeks, seemingly under horrible circumstances. Yes, Kurt was pretty sure that it wasn't over. But what could he do?

Turning to Blaine was his first thought but he shook his head and tried to get the idea out of his head. Blaine couldn't protect them, not this time. That guy was nothing like the criminals they had dealed with before. Blaine had tried to get Danny back from him once and he had failed. Although Kurt had lied about blaming Blaine for what had happened to Danny, he was scared that it would happen again if he asked for help. No. He was all alone in this. He had to protect his son on his own. He only wasn't sure if he could do it all alone.

He reached out and stroked Danny's pale cheek. His son must have gone through hell in the past weeks. It was all their fault. It was mostly his fault. He should have protected Danny. He should have done something the moment he had seen that something was wrong. He should have kept Danny home, away from the monsters waiting for them outside of their home. Danny was too young to understand how dangerous the world could be. He should have prepared him better, then Danny would have stayed home that night and things wouldn't have spiraled out of control.

But it was too late to change that. All he could do was being more careful from now on. He couldn't let Danny get hurt ever again. He would be strong enough to keep him safe. He would keep himself to the deal and he would get help to protect their home. Danny wouldn't be able to leave the house anytime soon anyway, he only had to get them bodyguards and never let his guard down. They would be fine. That man would leave them alone eventually, once he realized that Kurt and Danny wouldn't lead him to Blaine anymore. It would be hard for sure. Danny would hate him for destroying their family, but he would accept it sooner or later. He didn't have another choice. It was final, even if Kurt wasn't sure if he would heal from his heartbreak. Saying goodbye to Blaine was certainly the hardest thing he had done in his life but his child was the most important. He was more important than his own happiness. Kurt had failed him once but he would never do that again.

Suddenly, the door swang open and Kurt jumped in his seat as Blaine stormed inside, his eyes wide, breathing heavily. He stopped for a moment, his eyes landing on Danny's still form before turning to Kurt desperately.

"He is fine" Kurt said quietly.

"What the hell, Kurt?" Blaine said as he stepped closer, taking deep breaths to calm down a bit. "Nick said that you texted him. Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't think you wanted to see us" Kurt said, looking away. He wasn't sure if he could look into Blaine's eyes and lie to him.

"You didn't think that I wanted to see Danny? That I was worried about him?" Blaine asked in disbelief.

"We broke up" Kurt replied.

"And you thought that I would turn away from you just because of that?" Blaine asked, shaking his head. "I thought you knew me."

Kurt sighed sadly. Blaine was right, of course. He loved Danny, the fact that they were no longer together wouldn't change that.

"Look, Blaine, it's been a really long day. Excuse me if I forgot to call you when my son was in the surgery and I was worried sick about him" Kurt said in frustration. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. They should have supported each other in such a hard time. Blaine would surely do that for him if Kurt asked him but he couldn't do that. Ethan had made it clear that he would watch them. He couldn't let him hurt his child again.

"I know" Blaine said gently. "I just… We are family."

"Not anymore" Kurt said. "I think you should leave."

"What?" Blaine shouted with wide eyes.

Danny stirred and muttered something incoherently. Kurt quickly stood up and whispered calmingly into his ear until Danny went back to sleep. Then he turned to Blaine angrily.

"He has to rest. Be quiet" he said.

Blaine shut his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Kurt was right, he had to calm down. It didn't mean that he would do as Kurt told him. No. He cared about Danny and wouldn't let Kurt send him away so easily. He walked to the other side of the bed and sat down across Kurt, taking Danny's injured hand.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked.

"I'm staying" Blaine said. "I don't care what you think about me. I don't care if you are angry with me, you can't keep me away from him. That's not what Danny wants. He needs me and I'm not going anywhere."

"Blaine…" Kurt sighed tiredly.

"No" Blaine said determinedly. "I'm staying."

Kurt bit his lip but said nothing. What could he say? Blaine was right. Danny would wake up soon and he would certainly need both of them. He had no idea what his son had gone through in the previous few weeks but he was probably confused and scared. He needed his family, both of them, to help him recover.

They were silent for a long time. They mostly just watched Danny, sometimes they glanced at each other. Blaine held Danny's injured hand carefully, afraid of hurting him. Kurt just tried to stay calm. It wasn't like he got back together with Blaine. They were still friends and they had a child together. Ethan surely didn't want him to do anything suspicious, so having Blaine around shouldn't cause any trouble for them. It wasn't in the deal after all. He had had to break up with Blaine but that was all. Ethan hadn't told him that he couldn't even see the man ever again.

"What did the doctors say?" Blaine asked.

"He's a little dehydrated and undernourished" Kurt started, repeating what the doctor had told him. "He was drugged but it didn't do any damage. He has to rest a lot and eat healthily but he'll be fine."

Blaine looked at Danny's injured right arm. It didn't look fine at all.

"It's broken" Kurt said. "The surgery was successful, though. It should heal completely with time."

"How?" Blaine asked quietly.

"I don't know what…"

"How did you get him back?" Blaine asked.

Kurt was prepared for the question. The police had already talked to him and he had had a lot of time to come up with the best explanation while waiting at home for Ethan's call. He had repeated it in his head so many times that he almost believed it himself.

"I heard noises coming from outside" he said. "I went to the door to see what it was when I saw Danny. He was lying on the driveway."

"Are you trying to tell me that Ethan just let him go? He didn't contact you, he didn't…"

"Maybe he just didn't need him anymore since we broke up" Kurt cut in. "He must have found out that we are no longer together and he can't get to you through Danny."

He held his breath for a long moment as Blaine watched him. Kurt started panicking. Blaine was clever, he surely knew that Kurt was lying… What would he do then? He couldn't keep Blaine away from them, he would try to protect them and then Ethan would come back and take Danny from him again...

"You might be right" Blaine said in the end. "That's what he wanted after all. He took everything away from me, so he doesn't need Danny anymore."

"That's the only explanation" Kurt said.

"Right" Blaine nodded.

It was dark outside when Blaine could finally convince Kurt to go home, have a shower and something to eat. The man hadn't left his place at Danny's bed for almost an entire day and Blaine could see how exhausted he was. Blaine was worried about him. It was torture seeing Danny like this, he didn't want Kurt to hurt himself.

So Kurt finally left, making Blaine promise to call him immediately if Danny woke up.

Blaine walked to the other side of the bed and took Danny's uninjured hand. The boy was still asleep, although he would wake up soon if he could believe the doctor. He hoped it would happen soon. It was horrible just sitting beside him, unable to do anything. Blaine's eyes landed on Danny's face. He was so pale and had dark circles under his eyes. He had been starved, that was sure, and he must have gone through hell while being with Ethan. Blaine didn't want to think about what Danny had been through. He knew Ethan and how he handled people. It was a miracle Danny hadn't gotten more injuries.

He sighed and reached out to brush a lock of hair out of Danny's eye. He shouldn't have let this happen. He should have kept his family safe, he should have taken the threats more seriously when he had had a choice. Honestly, he had no idea how he could have let this happen. His family was the most important in his life, he had always protected them so far, how could he fail this time?

He had thought that getting Danny back would help his guilt but it didn't change anything. He wasn't closer to catching Ethan at all and he had lost everything that was important in his life. He was all alone now… Ethan had been right. Killing him would have been so easy. Blaine suffered a lot more now that he had nothing. Even if both Kurt and Danny were alive, they weren't a family anymore. Ethan had taken everything away from him and he wasn't sure if he would survive the pain.

A small voice in his head told him that it wasn't real, that he shouldn't believe Kurt. He wanted to believe that voice but he wasn't sure if it was real or he just made up things in his mind. He had tried to find out if Kurt told him the truth about how he felt but either he lied too well or… Or it was really over.

There was only one person who could help him find out the truth. Danny. Blaine knew that even if Kurt wouldn't talk to him ever again, Danny would help him with this. Once he woke up. No, once he was ready. Blaine had to remind himself that Danny's well-being was the most important now. Even if it killed him, he had to wait until the boy was ready to ask him about what had happened. But then… Then he would find Ethan and make sure he paid for all the pain he caused for Blaine's family.

Danny moaned quietly and slightly turned his head. Blaine stood up immediately and squeezed the boy's hand. He forced out a small smile when Danny opened his eyes. He had to see that he wasn't alone, even if he was confused because he was for sure, that he had his family and they wouldn't let him down this time.

"Blaine?" Danny whispered.

"Hey" Blaine said gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Thirsty" Danny said.

Oh, of course. The drugs. Blaine reached for the cup on the table they had prepared for Danny and leaned down to help the boy. Danny was too weak to sit up on his own but with Blaine's help he managed to get some water. Then he fell back onto the pillow and closer his eyes.

"Are you in pain?" Blaine asked in worry. "I should call the doctor…"

"You are here" Danny whispered.

"I am" Blaine nodded as he took his seat beside the boy again. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

Danny muttered something Blaine couldn't understand but then he went back to sleep almost immediately. Blaine sighed as he watched him. He had to make himself believe that things would get better soon. Even if it was so hard.

~ o ~

Kurt was glad that he was the only one beside Danny when he woke up the next time, his mind a lot clearer, seemingly recognizing him for the first blink. Danny smiled weakly as he looked at him, his eyes filling with relief.

"You are home, honey" Kurt said.

"What happened?" Danny asked.

Kurt took a deep breath and glanced at the door. He didn't have much time. He had to find out how much Danny remembered, although he knew very well how wrong it was. Danny had to rest. He shouldn't have been bothered with this.

"How much do you remember?" Kurt asked.

Danny closed his eyes for a second, probably trying to get his memories back. He frowned when he opened his eyes again, slightly shaking his head.

"I-I don't… I don't remember" he said.

"What's your last memory?" Kurt asked. He needed to know.

"I was in that house…" Danny whispered, turning his head away.

"No. No, honey, look at me. Try to remember. This is important" Kurt said.

Danny turned his head back to look at him, seemingly still confused.

"How did I get back?" he asked.

Kurt tried hard to hide how relieved he was. So Danny didn't remember much of that night, maybe nothing at all. It was good actually. It was easier for Kurt to keep himself to his lies if Danny didn't remember the truth.

"I'm not sure" Kurt said. "I found you in front of our house. They must have dumped you there."

Danny blinked a few times before nodding.

"Yeah. That must be it" he said.

"It's okay, honey. Just a few more days and I can bring you home" Kurt reassured him.

Danny frowned as he looked down and his eyes landed on his bandaged arm. He tried to move it but hissed as pain shot through his arm.

"Stay still, okay?" Kurt said hastily. "It's broken. You shouldn't move it at all."

"It hurts" Danny moaned.

"I know, I know" Kurt said. "I'll get the doctor, okay? Just don't move."

"How did I break my arm? I don't remember" Danny muttered.

"It's okay, honey" Kurt said reassuringly. "Stay here. I'll get you something to ease the pain."

"Okay" Danny said quietly.

Kurt walked out of the room and leaned against the wall when he was safely out of Danny's sight, sighing heavily. Damn, it was so hard to lie to the people he loved the most. They didn't deserve this. But Kurt didn't have another choice.

~ o ~

To both men's relief, Danny got better soon. He didn't sleep so much anymore and he didn't seem so disoriented anymore. It didn't mean he could leave hospital, though. There were a few more tests waiting for him since the doctors were worried about his memory loss and wanted to keep him in the hospital a little longer. It became hard with the boy. He just wanted to go home, to his loved ones, to his old life. He couldn't stop repeating this anyone came to see him.

Luckily, Kurt and Blaine managed those days without fight. Probably because Danny still didn't know about the two of them and since he thought that Kurt wanted to tell him, Blaine stayed away when Kurt was around and only came to visit when he was gone. It also meant that he barely saw Danny awake and didn't have any time to talk to him, but at least he didn't have a chance to upset him either. He had to talk to Kurt because they couldn't do this forever but it seemed like Kurt avoided it. It was hard to talk to someone when they didn't give him a chance. But Blaine Anderson was a stubborn man if he wanted to and he would find a way.

It came the 4th day when his friends visited Danny. Although they all wanted to see the boy and Kurt was afraid that it would be too much for Danny, he decided that a few of them could visit him every day, only if Danny felt ready for that. It seemed like their visits were good for the boy who finally found something to spend his days with.

Kurt was standing in front of the room, waiting for Nick to talk to Danny briefly, when Blaine found him. He was about to talk to him but Jeff was faster. Blaine hadn't even seen his friend until he stopped beside Kurt and handed him a paper cup. Blaine stepped back immediately and hid behind the wall.

"Thanks" Kurt said.

"You look awful" Jeff said.

"It's been a few hard days for us" Kurt said quietly.

"I can tell" Jeff said. "Although you made them harder for yourself than necessary."

Blaine smirked. Yeah, Jeff always said the truth, even if the time wasn't right.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kurt asked.

"I don't get it, Kurt" Jeff said. "You love Blaine. You went through everything together, he was there for you in the hardest times…"

"I don't want to discuss this with you" Kurt cut in.

"Maybe you should" Jeff said. "Look, I am your friend. I know both you and I can't not see how much you both suffer. Give him another chance. Please."

"I made a decision, Jeff. I know the reasons and Blaine understands them as well. It's over. Please, accept my choice" Kurt said.

"I can't do that" Jeff said.

"You have to because I won't change my mind" Kurt said in frustration. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go back to my son."

Blaine chose that moment to step out of his hiding. Kurt stopped for a moment when he saw him, something unreadable flashing in his eyes. He reached for the handle but Blaine stopped him before he could open the door.

"Can we talk for a second?" he asked.

"What do you want, Blaine?" Kurt asked tiredly.

"I just…" Blaine grabbed Kurt's arm and gently pulled away from the door. "Does Danny know about us?"

"Not yet" Kurt said. "I don't want to upset him."

"He needs to know, Kurt" Blaine said.

"I know. And I will tell him, once we get home" Kurt said.

"Shouldn't we tell him together?" Blaine asked.

"No. I can deal with this alone" Kurt said.

"If you want that…" Blaine sighed.

"Look, it's sweet that you still care about him, but Danny is my son. He's my responsibility" Kurt said.

"I think it's something we should deal with together" Blaine said.

"There's no we anymore, Blaine" Kurt said.

It hurt so much. Blaine hated hearing those words, they broke his heart over and over again.

"I… I wanted to ask you something else" he said hesitantly before Kurt could leave.

"Yeah?" Kurt asked as he turned back.

"I want to go back to the house tonight to grab a few things if it's okay with you" Blaine said.

"Sure" Kurt nodded.

And then, he was gone again. Blaine sighed and leaned to the wall, closing his eyes. Damn, it was so hard. Would it be better anytime soon? He wasn't sure.

"You okay?" Jeff asked quietly as he joined his friend.

"No" Blaine shook his head. "And I don't know if I'll ever be."

"You know, if you go back to the house alone, I think checking on the recordings would be a good idea" Jeff said. "Maybe you'll find something to help us catch that guy. I'm sure Kurt'll take you back if we get him out of the picture."

Jeff might have been right. Although Blaine couldn't be sure if Kurt forgave him if they caught Ethan, but the danger would be gone and maybe he had a chance to get the man he loved back.

"Good idea" he said as he reached out to put a hand on Jeff's shoulder. "Thank you."

"Anytime" Jeff smiled. "We are here for both of you."

~ o ~

A week after getting back to Kurt, Danny was finally able to leave the hospital. Although he was still weak, his arm still covered in thick bandages and he had to visit a therapist twice a week, Danny was more than ready to go home. He missed his home so badly and he couldn't wait to spend some time with his family. He had found it weird that Kurt and Blaine were never together in the same room, but he had thought that it was because they had to take care of a few things. Until the day of going home. Blaine didn't come with Kurt this time and his father seemed really sad for some reason. Danny was afraid that they had had a fight, that was why Blaine had stayed away. He hoped that it was nothing serious. He couldn't wait to be with them again, as a family.

He looked around nervously as they walked to the car. Being on the street again was overwhelming, the noises too loud, there were too many people around him… He took a step closer to Kurt, trying to hide how nervous he was.

"Is everything alright?" Kurt asked in concern.

"Yeah" Danny whispered.

"Let's go home, honey" Kurt said as he ushered the boy to the car.

They were silent on the way home. Danny felt so weird. Everything seemed so different. The sun was too bright, as were the colors. Even Kurt seemed different for some reason. Why was he feeling that way? Was something wrong with him? It had to be the long time he had spent away from his family. He hoped that this feeling would change, though. He wanted his life back.

Being home was nothing like Danny had imagined. He had thought that it would be great, after all the things he had gone through in the previous weeks, but he didn't feel happy at all as he stepped through the familiar door. He slowly walked into the living room and stopped immediately. The place he had last seen before being taken all those weeks ago. Where he had had that stupid fight with his family, where he had ruined everything...

"Are you hungry?" Kurt asked as he joined Danny, carrying his bag with the clothes they had brought back from the hospital.

Danny's eyes landed on the bag. He had loved those clothes ones but he couldn't even look at them now. He hadn't told Kurt how he felt about them, the man was already worried about him, it would make everything worse if Danny told him that he was practically scared of those clothes. They brought back too many bad memories.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked.

"I just want to sleep" Danny said quietly.

"Of course" Kurt nodded.

They walked upstairs and stopped in front of Danny's room. Kurt watched the boy in concern as Danny stopped and didn't make any move to open the door. Danny didn't think it was strange. He was so used to not being allowed to touch the door, he was just waiting for Kurt to open it and tell him what he should do.

"Here" Kurt said as he opened the door in the end. "I left everything untouched. I cleaned up a bit but I didn't touch your things."

"Thank you" Danny said.

"What do you want to eat for lunch?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know" Danny said.

"You should eat something light and healthy. The doctor said that it could take some time until you could eat everything again" Kurt said.

"Okay" Danny nodded.

Kurt sighed heavily. He tried so hard to make Danny happy but he hadn't seen his son smile since getting him back. It was horrible seeing him like this.

"I can make a soup" he said hesitantly.

"Okay" Danny said again.

It was pointless. Maybe he should just give Danny time to get back to his normal life. A few more days and he would be fine, Kurt hoped. He had to be.

He turned to leave the room when Danny stopped him.

"Where is Blaine?" he asked.

"Uhm… excuse me…"

"Blaine" Danny said again. "Why isn't he home? I thought I could finally see him."

Kurt took a deep breath. He couldn't keep it secret anymore. Danny had to know about them, even if he knew that it would upset the boy.

"You should sit down" he said.

"Oh, my God!" Danny gasped. "He left you!"

"What? No…"

"That's why he barely visited me in the hospital, right?" Danny asked, his breathing speeding up. "He left because of me."

"No, honey. Of course not!" Kurt said hastily. "Danny… Some things changed between me and Blaine while you were gone. We… I… My feelings changed about him."

"You broke up with him?" Danny asked with wide eyes.

"I did" Kurt said, looking away.

Danny started crying. He turned away from Kurt, so the man couldn't see him, but he could hear his quiet sobs.

"I know it's really bad for you now, but it doesn't have to change anything" Kurt said gently, trying to enlighten the mood. "You can still see him."

"What if he doesn't want to see me anymore?" Danny cried.

"He didn't avoid you because he doesn't want to see you anymore. It was because of me" Kurt explained. "I-I'm sure we can find a solution. You can spend some time at his place. Every second weekend or…"

"It's not the same" Danny cried. "God. I thought… I thought that things would be better now that I'm home… But everything is a lot worse."

Kurt didn't know what to say. Danny was in a very fragile state right now and he just did everything worse for him. The boy surely hated him… but he would understand one day. When they were safe again and Kurt could tell him the truth, that he just wanted to keep him out of harm's way.

~ o ~

It was late but Blaine Anderson was still working in his office. He had gone back to the house the previous night, he had gotten everything he needed… even a few more things, mostly photos of the three of them. He missed his family, a lot. He sighed as he looked at a photo on his desk. It was taken a few months earlier, on their last holiday, when everything had seemed so simple and beautiful. But it was all gone. And he had no idea how to get it back.

He forced himself to look away from the photo and back at the screen. As Jeff had told him, he had gotten the recordings of te security cameras around the house and he was getting through all of them. He was already so tired but he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep on the uncomfortable couch in his office. He had to find himself a place to stay, at least until he and Kurt sorted things out. It could take some time, a little more now that Danny was back, because he was more important for both of them, but he hoped that Kurt would change his mind sooner or later. They were meant to be together. He knew they were. And he would find a way to gain Kurt's trust again.

He zoomed out a bit, though, and he almost missed an important detail. Almost. He was Blaine Anderson, head of the Warblers after all, things like this didn't go unnoticed by him. He realized that it was the recording from the day when Danny had been found. It was already dark outside, so he was waiting for the time when Ethan arrived on the screen with Danny. That never happened, though. Blaine checked the day on the recording again. It was the correct date. But why wasn't he there then?

Blaine was ready to get back to an earlier point of the night, believing that he had missed the important part, when something unexpected happened. Nobody approached the house. But Kurt left it. Blaine leaned closer as he watched the man walk out of the house, look around nervously, and then walk to his car. He could tell that Kurt was scared. His hands were shaking and he could barely open the door. He got into the car and disappeared from his sight. Blaine tried to find the time he got back but it never happened.

Ethan hadn't been at the house that night.

Kurt had left.

He had probably met Ethan somewhere else.

Blaine watched the recording over and over again. He tried to find out more from Kurt's behaviour, he tried to find out what he had done that night. He was dying to know what had happened but the most important question was...

"Why did you lie to me?" Blaine whispered.

Something told him that Kurt wouldn't answer that question. He had figure out on his own what was going on.