Sorry this is late! Like I said in BYFOT I'm in between quitting one job and starting some other stuff, these past two weeks (plus one more) have been overlapping everything, so it's been a little busy! After Sunday I should be updating more frequently, but if this happens again I apologize in advance.

Lurve you all! :D

'Boy, did you touch this?'

'Come here, no, don't you back away from me.'

'Punishment is for those who don't obey. If you don't obey you will be punished. If you do, you will not.'

'Get in the bed.'

'Get out of the room.'

'Why can't you listen.'

'Stupid boy.'

'Good adoptives learn quickly, you don't want to be bad, do you?'

'COME HERE!'

Blaine woke suddenly, his entire body trembling. He didn't like those dreams. They didn't make sense. When he dreamed of events he could understand, but this… Blaine just wanted the people to stop yelling at him.

With shaking arms he lifted himself from the bed and padded softly to the door. Pressing his ear against it, he listened for the sounds of his keepers, but he heard nothing. They must have all gone to sleep.

Being careful not to make noise with the door, Blaine pushed through and quietly crawled up the stairs. It was hard to see in the dark, and he was still disoriented from his sleep, so crawling seemed to be the only option he had to ensure he wouldn't fall and wake anyone. Reaching the top of the stairs, he made his way to the front door and, not for the first time that week, placed his hand on the knob.

He knew where Mr. Puck lived. Mr. Puck had said he would help him stop being so angry. He hadn't yet. Almost every night Blaine awoke from terrible dreams that left him scared and angry, but Mr. Puck was never there. He knew he could find the other boy's home, but he didn't know if his keepers had set up an alarm to keep him from running away, or if they could track him. He didn't want to get Mr. Puck in trouble, he just wanted to stop being so sad and angry. He tightened his grip on the handle and let out a quiet whine.

'Good adoptives aren't allowed to cry.'

He wasn't good.

Blaine slunk over to the stairs and held the railing cautiously. He was allowed upstairs. Mr. Burt had said he was allowed, but could he go at night? Was he really allowed? Blaine choked back another sob. He didn't care about rules right now. He didn't want to be alone.

Blaine crawled up the stairs and made his way to the door at the end of the hall. He could hear Mr. Burt's deep snores through the wall and it made him happy. He pressed all of his weight against the door and listened to the sound of his keepers breathing. His keepers would keep him safe. They wouldn't yell and they wouldn't hit. They were nice to him, and he liked them very much.

They wouldn't be angry if he was lonely…would they?

Blaine held his breath as he turned the doorknob, jumping as the door creaked open. He held his breath, but his keeper continued to snore.

Closing the door behind him, Blaine sunk to his hands and knees and crawled to the foot of the bed, relishing the sound of his keepers breathing so close.

He curled up underneath the edge of the bed and breathed out a content sigh of relief, his keeper's snores lulling him to sleep.

Burt awoke slowly, groaning quietly as he tried to fall back asleep, but the pressure on his bladder wouldn't allow it. Rolling over, he read the bright letters of the clock. 1:03A.M.. Burt sighed and stretched out underneath the warm comfortable blankets, wincing as his back cracked loudly.

Mumbling quietly to himself, Burt stood slowly, trying not to wake Carole. Ever since Blaine had come home with him, Carole had become a light sleeper.

'You're not going to hear him if he needs anything. He's quiet and two floors away,' Burt grumbled as Carole shook him awake for the third time that night.

'I swear I heard him, Burt. Will you just go check on him, please?'

Burt swore under his breath.

'Carole, I've checked on him twice. The boy is fine. If you're so sure he needs us why don't you go?' He heard Carole huff impatiently behind him.

'He doesn't trust me like he trusts you, Burt. If he does need someone he's not going to want me, he's going to want you.'

'For Christ's sake, Carole. It's been two days. He's not playing favourites, and he doesn't like me any more than he likes you. Hell, I don't even know if he likes either of us at all.'

Burt turned to face his wife, instantly regretting his words as he saw her face. He reached out to her, but she pushed his hand away.

'He's just a baby, Burt. He's a little boy who is hurt and scared and alone. He may not like us – he may never like us – but dammit, Burt, he needs to know that we're here for him. Of course he doesn't trust any of us, but as much as he doesn't trust you, he trusts me less. Go check on him. Now.'

Burt swallowed audibly and nodded.

Sighing again, Burt made his way quietly to the door. Rounding the bed, he felt his foot land on something warm and fleshy and alive.

"SHIT," he cursed, jumping backwards and stumbling against the bed.

"Mr. Burt – "

"Oh, thank God, kid." Burt shook with relief as Blaine's voice filled the air.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm so very so – "

"It's okay, Blaine." He chuckled humourlessly. "You scared the bejesus out of me."

"Mr. Burt please I'm –"

"Burt? Blaine? What's going on; is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just – Blaine was sleeping on the floor and – look, I really wanna know what's going on here, but after that I really gotta go, so just…hold tight for a few, okay, bud? I'm not mad at you, but I really just need a few."

Carole sat straight up when she saw Burt's hand drift over his heart, his breathing shallow and ragged.

"Burt…"

He turned and smiled weakly at her, giving her the thumbs up before he left the room. Once he had gone, Carole turned her attention back to Blaine.

"Mrs. Carole, I'm so-"

"Shhh, honey. It's okay, come here, baby. Calm down, you're okay."

Blaine crawled out from under the bed and over to her side, shaking terribly. As he reached her she shifted her body into the center of the bed and lowered the blankets.

'C'mere, baby. It's okay."

Blaine placed his hands hesitantly on the edge of the bed and eyed her carefully. He didn't like keeper beds. He didn't like them at all. But he had snuck into the room, and he had woken his keepers. If she wanted him to come to the bed he would go. He had to. He always had to.

Blaine crawled in beside her. Carole adjusted the blankets around him and stroked his hair gently.

"Why were you under the bed, baby?"

The boy shook against her body as she continued to run her fingers through his hair soothingly. He let out a small whimper. Carole cooed beside him.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

"Mhm."

"What happened?"

"I was being yelled at, Mrs. Carole."

"Oh, honey. What mean person was yelling at you?"

"My keepers, Mrs. Carole." Carole stiffened beside him, stilling her hand in his hair.

"Burt and I were yelling at you?"

"No, Mrs. Carole. My old keepers. And my educator. They were very loud and very angry, Mrs. Carole."

She stroked his hair again.

"Oh, baby I'm sorry. You know that you're safe here, right? They can't yell at you here, Blaine. They're far, far away from you and Burt and I would never let them near you. You're home here, Blaine. You're home, and you're safe."

Blaine relaxed and snuggled into Carole's arms but didn't say anything. Burt came back into the room.

"Everythin' okay?"

Carole chuckled softly and twisted Blaine's hair between her fingers.

"Blaine had a bad dream, he's going to sleep with us tonight."

Burt nodded and moved to the small chair beside the bed. Grabbing a decorative pillow from it, he started for the door.

"I'll be on the couch then, if anyone needs me."

"Mr. Burt," Blaine called out apprehensively, sitting up quickly.

"It's okay. I'm just giving you two more room here."

Carole moved back and gestured for Blaine to lie down again, but he wouldn't.

"I can sleep on the floor, Mr. Burt."

"No, s'kay."

"Please don't leave."

Burt paused a foot from the door and turned to face the sitting figure of Blaine. With a sigh, he made his way to his wife's side of the bed, patting Blaine's side gently.

"Scoot."

Blaine moved against Carole as Burt climbed into bed again.

"So what was this dream about, then?"

"Bad people saying bad things," Carole offered with a nod to Blaine. The boy pressed his head into her shoulder.

"Hmm. Do you have these dreams a lot, Blaine?"

The boy shrugged.

"Are they usually this bad?"

He shook his head.

"Do you think that maybe you had this dream because you're a little nervous about going in for your eye appointment tomorrow?"

Blaine didn't move. Burt reached over and rubbed his arm warmly.

"It's gonna be okay. I promise. It's not gonna be fun tomorrow, but it won't be too bad either. And after that, you'll have an eye, Blaine. A few months from now, you're already gonna have that eye, and your burns are gonna fade. You'll look like every other kid.

The boy smiled softly at his keeper. Burt began to hum softly until Blaine relaxed. Within ten minutes, Carole had fallen back asleep. Burt joined soon after. Blaine lay on his back and alternated watching his keepers.

No touching. No biting. No hurting. No sex.

Blaine giggled softly as the realization sunk in.

No sex.

He reached towards Carole and stroked a few strands that had fallen loosely on her pillow.

He was allowed to touch.

Turning back to Burt Blaine poked his cheek. Burt grunted and shifted his body with a sleepy sigh.

He was allowed to touch.

Blaine shimmied lower into the bed, enjoying the warmth he felt radiating against his skin from both bodies.

He was safe.

Burt groaned in his sleep, not entirely enjoying the amount of heat surrounding him. As comfortable as he knew he was, he felt as though he was trapped in a leather seated car in the middle of a hot August day with the windows rolled up. There was oxygen, but it was thick and warm and smelled a little off. Grunting, he twisted his body away from the source of the heat, but the heat just held him tighter. Burt shifted as he started to wake up slowly, opening one bleary eye that was forced to close immediately as a few of Blaine's loose curls contacted his eye. Burt fought the urge to pull away quickly, not wanting to wake the boy or his wife. Tilting his head back, he opened his eyes a safe distance away from Blaine's rogue hair and lowered his eyes to see Blaine.

The boy had fallen asleep facing Burt, though he was still tucked tightly in Carole's arms. One arm was over Burt's shoulder, the other clutched at the front of his shirt. Blaine's Mouth was open and he was breathing heavily into Burt's face, trapped in a deep sleep. Burt slid back but stopped as he heard Blaine whine quietly. His hands tightened their grip on Burt, and he unconsciously pulled away from Carole.

The sudden move caused Carole to stir, and she blinked slowly as she herself slowly woke up. Once open, her eyes met Burt's, and she smiled softly at him. Returning it, Burt slid himself carefully off the bed, grabbing his pillow and placing it in Blaine's arms to replace himself.

'I'll make breakfast,' he mouthed. Carole smiled and nodded before she closed her eyes again. She fell back asleep stroking Blaine's hair.

Burt padded to the door and out, starting his journey down the stairs. The house was silent. He wasn't used to this – he probably wouldn't ever be, even after both Finn and Kurt left for college. After that, it would just be him, Carole, and Blaine.

He stopped at the end of the stairs and sighed.

He hadn't even thought of when Finn and Kurt would leave. Somehow in his mind he'd managed to assume that as long as Blaine was with them, Kurt and Finn would be too. That wasn't true, though. Since he and Carole had assumed that the only adoptive they would be able to afford would be one with a terminal illness, the future hadn't been given much thought. Since Blaine had started at the shop business had begun to improve. Burt was able to spend time with customers and develop relationships with them while Blaine did the easier jobs. Burt still helped him with some things, and unless the car had been left overnight to cool off, Blaine refused to change oil. Luckily for them they were beginning to get more advanced appointments, but Burt still had to step in. Would Blaine do this forever? When they had made enough money, would they keep him at the shop, or keep him home? If given the choice, would Blaine say what he wanted to do? Would they sell him?

No. They wouldn't sell him. Ever. No matter what.

Even if buying Blaine was the worst decision they had ever made, there would be no way that they could ever let him go. As much as Blaine didn't believe it, he was family. Burt felt guilty for even having the thought. When the time came, they would have to talk to him, but for now they had to focus on Blaine, and right now Blaine needed to get ready for his eye.

Burt began to make pancakes, and by the time the others arrived in the kitchen he had already made a rather large stack.

Blaine shuffled in behind Carole, shyly smiling at Burt. His cheeks were pink with embarrassment, but he managed a small wave to his keeper. Burt grinned and waved his spatula.

No. They could never let him go.

No matter what.

Ohhh balls this is late. SORRY!

Nurse Kate: Thank you so much for your consistent support and reviews, it really means so much to me, I`m so happy you`re still liking it! :D

Yesiamstrangegetoverit: hehehe I keep going back and forth forgetting if it`s angst or fluff, so I put both, yaay! Glad you liked it!

Klainey-boo: sorry I made you wait! XOXO I should be updating more frequently after the end of this week, and if not you have every right to angry harass!

Mybrotherharry: Thanks for coming back! :D Hehehe Klaine…hmmm what's that? :P I actually had to write a one-shot just to convince myself that I wasn't secretly anti-Klaine because I actually didn't know. Apparently I can, so I'm a little excited for this myself :P

The Songbirds Are Singing: Ahh, so glad Brittany came off okay! :D Thanks for the review, super-awesome friend!

TwistedRocketPower: Sorry for the wait! Thanks for sticking around! :D

Kurt Fearella: Thanks, I'm glad that's working for you :D

MKAlza11: *blushes* Thank you! Yeah, I know my Finn's a little off, but I really don't like S3 Finn. I've been trying to draw on S1, but if that's not working, sorry!

Rory46: ilu :D Thanks for the review!

TuuzMB: Hahaha yeah I know :P I figured that he was the first one introduced, and it wasn't going to be cray-cray Klaine, but yeah, I found it kind of funny too. Thanks again, so happy you're still liking it! I do actually like Mercedes, but she's a lot harder to write than the others – without thinking, 'oh my goodness, was that line unintentionally racist?' the whole time. I'm a little paranoid when it comes to offending people (ironically enough I'm one of the most difficult people to offend) and I don't want to say/do anything accidentally – which, of course, sounds racist in itself. If it is it's not intentional, I swear
I really do care very deeply about what every person reviewing says (I consistently check stats to see how many people have been reading – almost as consistently as I check reviews), and while I did say before that I'm writing this story for me (which I very selfishly am) I love different perspectives and ideas, and I honestly appreciate the fact that you have put in the effort to let me know what you liked/didn't like. There have been suggestions from readers that I hadn't even thought about that after I've read it I've felt dumb that I didn't see it myself because it was so awesome and fit in so perfectly.
Again, thank you so much, I really truly do appreciate all your reviews, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy and loved and butterfly-ie. So thank you! :D

Fabi: Good! I'm glad it got better! :D I'm sorry I was gone for weeks but I hope that those two weeks were the BEST. WEEKS. EVER. And not bad at all. Because that would be horrible. And you must only feel good and happy things from now on, okay? Okay! :D

Matchbookjealousy: Thank you, so glad Brittany worked! :D I'm pretty excited for his eye too. I think I'm more excited than Blaine is. :P

Parmelde Lorntiere: Best friends for everyone! Whoooo! :D! I'm sorry the first part was so sad, but happy cuddles make everything magically better!

Iadorespike: Poor Blaine. I put my sad panda pants on for that one. And those are some saaad pants. One day things will get better…I hope :D

KlainePotter: YOU'RE TOO CUTE. So are eyes. And Blaine's already so cute, he's gonna be super doubly cute with two! :D

Guestie! KlesghefgIfenLIKEeigjsnlsvYOU!

Hi Rob! I'm sorry for the wait – hope it was semi-worth it!

One-Eyed Lady: No forgiveness needed, good friend! There is no denying that I love your reviews, but if you do not review every chapter, or you don't read for forevskies, we are still friends. I know you're there somewhere in the shadows, and I appreciate and respect that :D That being said, thanks for coming back! :D!

Robby Moon: Oh wow that's a lot of angst in two days! Yes, I'm actually reading it now. Sorry, I thought I'd left a note about it at the end of the chapter, but I guess I forgot. Bad plagiarizer, bad! I'll fix that!
Thank you, that means a lot to me. I've been writing this because I love the genre too, but things I wanted to read weren't being included in the fics I read. I'm really glad that you're liking it, and that it's different enough. Thanks again, new friend! :D

Guestie! I think we would be fantastic crime-fighters. We should have a handshake. I'm sorry I killed you, but hopefully I can resurrect you so that I can kill you again when we get to the actual Blangst. (THIS IS A METAPHORICAL KILLING ONLY. NO GUESTIES WERE HARMED DURING THE WRITING OF THIS REVIEW RESPONSE)

Katie097: Maybe by yourself you can't, but together we can!…make Blaine suffer and cry and feel sad and

ThatKlaineShipper: It so cute 'cause you're so cute. – equality – .

Musicbeyondmagic: So hap-hap-happy you liked it! :D

Guestie! I'm glad that you like it and yes, there will be more Klaineish moments coming up.
I really have thought a lot about what you said about following script with the songs – and I'm so sad because I know how cheesy it is, and how it is overdone, but I really like that kind of cheese. I don't want you to think that I'm ignoring you – because I'm not trying to. I did get into a huge debate with myself over this, but eventually I did come to a compromise. When I started including songs from the show, I knew where I wanted it to end up. I know the last song I want done, and after that it's going a different way – but I want it to get to that point. I actually did think beforehand the likelihood that Blaine would sing these songs, and I got pretty lucky that canon Blaine's so top 40 that he would hear a lot from the radio. If it had been a lot of really old music no, I wouldn't have, but for now I'm going to stick with my plan. Please don't think that I'm not listening to your constructive criticism (and yes, I do agree it is constructive) because I am, even if I'm not following it. Seriously, though, thank you for that. I do absolutely love any and all feedback – I'm just really sorry that I'm not following it. I hope we can still be friends, : ( xx

Dreadedcaptainroberts: Hello, new friend! :D You make me feel just happy, but even if you gave me other sad feels we could still be friends because you are new and shiny and read my story and yes. :D

ThunderboltsandCupcakesForev e: Sorry it's so late, and thank you! :D