A/N: Thank you, dear readers and reviewers, as always for inspiring me! I don't own Glee or any songs, products, etc. that appear here.

"C'mon, Kurt, you ready to go?" Burt bellowed up the stairs. He was mildly surprised he'd been able to convince him to come to the McKinley football game tonight, but Kurt had buckled when Burt pointed out that Friday night was family night, and this is what they were doing tonight.

Before he'd left, Finn had reminded Kurt that Blaine was playing, as kicker. Burt didn't know this, but Kurt decided to let him think he'd talked him into going on his own. He finished his hair with a flourish, having applied a last spritz of hairspray, and joined his dad and Carole as they headed towards her car.

"Dad, what's going on down there?" Kurt frowned at the field, not knowing what the evident penalty was. He hated feeling confused. He also felt disappointed that number 18 was hardly ever in view, as Blaine was the kicker, and McKinley wasn't doing too well.

"Unnecessary roughness, kid," and Burt rattled on about the action that had just taken place, that Kurt had missed. Apparently he'd been looking at the wrong part of the field.

"That guy looks hurt, dad," Kurt stared as the McKinley player was helped off the field, back towards the first aid area. "Even I know that can't be good."

"Nope, kiddo, not good. Finn needs someone to throw to, and losing a wide receiver like that is bad news."

Kurt watched as Coach Beiste talked to the team as the refs sorted out the penalty to be meted out. A loud "15 yard penalty against defense, McKinley will now be at the 60 yard mark, first down." The home team crowd cheered its approval, and Kurt watched as the team got in formation around Finn. "Dad! What is Blaine doing out there? I thought he was just the kicker!" He was easy to find; his shorter stature stuck out in this setting.

Burt smiled and nodded his head. "He is, Kurt, but it looks like Coach is trying him out as a replacement for that kid that just got hurt."

"But he'll get killed!" Kurt's voice managed to be both shrill and quiet as he hissed to his dad. Burt laughed, it was clear that Kurt didn't approve of this.

"Coach wouldn't put him out there if she didn't think he could manage, Kurt. The other team knows he's the kicker, so they won't expect much, and may not bother guarding him much. They'll probably figure the bench isn't deep enough (and they'd be right) and that Coach put him out as a warm body, nothing more." He didn't add that the guys who'd taken out the other receiver minutes ago looked like brutes who might enjoy any excuse to crush the kicker.

The crowd watched as Finn got the ball, stepped back to find an opening to pass to, and was sacked. He picked himself up pretty quickly, and they got ready for the second down. Finn tried passing to Puck this time, but the pass was incomplete. Finn gathered the team in the huddle, and told the team the plan. They nodded and got in formation. As soon as he could, Blaine sprinted out, hoping to get yardage and not draw too much attention at the same time. Finn fired a pass right at him; he caught it, ran towards the endzone, and was tackled at the 20 yard line.

Kurt shrieked as Blaine disappeared under a mass of gigantic green-clad uniforms. As a whistle blew, they dispersed, and Puck helped Blaine up. Kurt was close enough to hear Blaine yell, "I'm fine!" but saw him shake his head seconds later, as if clearing water out of his ears after a dive. "Dad! He shouldn't be out there! He had a concussion not that long ago!"

"Honey, he's right." Carole was already heading off to have a word with the Coach, as the team set up for the next play.

"Kurt, Carole's on it; she's a nurse, and I think Coach will listen to her, or at least let someone examine him."

A tall man in a stylish grey stadium jacket appeared beside Coach Beiste. "Hello, I'm Michael Anderson."

later...

"Good game, guys, not too shabby!" Coach greeted the team in the locker room; they were full of happy high fives, towel snaps, and the plans for what they wanted to do with the rest of their night.

"Blaine, can I talk to you?"

"Sure thing, Coach." He looked happy, flushed, like the rest of the boys.

"I'm sorry I put you out there; probably should've waited longer, 'cause of your head."

"I know, Coach. I'm okay now, it was just right after, when I felt a little stunned."

He looked like he was telling the truth, and he'd been checked out by the PA in attendance, who'd cleared him for kicking and nothing else for the remainder of the game. "There's something else I wanted to tell you – your father was there, and he got to see you play. He told me he was proud of you. I don't think he stayed for the whole game though, I didn't see him after that."

Blaine felt stunned for the second time that night. He'd avoided seeing his father as much as possible. It was easy to do; he'd never been very present as a parent, for years now; and this had gotten much more noticeable after he'd come out. Then things got much worse when his mother found out that he'd cheated on her, a long term thing, and they separated. No amount of counseling could make him not take sides; he felt that her heart had been broken, and that his father was more upset that it had all been discovered than anything else. They were in the process of divorcing; his mother had chosen to move to Lima, where her sister and her family lived, which was two hours from Westerville. Since the divorce wasn't final, there had been no settlement, so she and her son lived on her accountant's salary. That meant they could live in a modest house, and live reasonably comfortably, but the tuition at Dalton was out of reach for her.

His father had offered to pay his Dalton tuition in full, on the condition that Blaine would come to live at his house. When Blaine heard the condition his father had set, his determination to join his mother and reject the offer was unshakable. There was no way in hell he was going to live with his arrogant, intolerant father. Blaine argued that the offer was his father in classic lawyer mode: make an offer that looks sweet on the outside, but coated in poison so it would never be accepted. Why he'd showed up at this game, he didn't know. Stranger still that he hadn't stayed, but whatever. He smiled, remembering his plan for the night: Kurt was coming to his house to hang out, and keep him up way past his bedtime.

He hurriedly got out of uniform, cleaned up a little (preferring a proper shower at home), and raced out to find Kurt waiting for him.

"Hey, best-kicker-ever!" and Kurt grabbed him in a crushing hug. "You okay?"

"Right now? Better than ever!" he growled back in Kurt's ear.

Laughing, Kurt released him. "We'll see about that." He wanted so badly to kiss him then and there, and witnessed scenes like that all around him. But a hug was going to suffice for now; he was just glad they'd be alone soon.

Blaine wasn't about to let his father's unexpected appearance ruin this night for him. His mom and auntie were going to finish a few dishes for tomorrow as they watched their favorite shows on the kitchen t.v., laughing and chatting so much as they worked that he doubted they heard their shows at all. He was going to help, until they kicked him out of the kitchen (which was usually pretty quick; his mom liked him having Kurt over). He hoped he and Kurt could sneak a piece of cake tonight. They'd made three of them, in preparation for the hungry Warblers tomorrow. Surely they could filch a piece or two tonight?

A/N: My knowledge of football really is limited, despite having seen lots of games in high school (I played clarinet in marching band, and we made it a practice to ignore the games entirely). I think in general what I wrote here is plausible, at least. Tell me if it's not – if necessary, I could amend the chapter.

Welcome, Josie, to reviewing! Glad you're liking the story, and I'm tickled that you made the tea (I coincidentally made some just like it today). Reminder: a recipe will show up in the next A/N.

Blurtitallout, you already know that your observations made this story better – again, thanks! Loquaciouslauryn, msdarque, I'mJustDefyingGravityx3, Writing memories, and DancingIntheRayne, so encouraged by you too!

More soon, amigos!