And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
Khalil Gibran

I had chosen my alarm clock for its aesthetic value. It was a rounded piece, silver with soothing blue numbers instead of the traditional yellow or red. It fit the mood of the room, and looked stunning.

I had not chosen the clock for the alarm on it. The noise it made was truly jarring, something that grated my nerves raw, especially at 3:30 in the morning. I slapped at it as fast as I could, not wanting Finn to be disturbed.

Not that it mattered. Finn was capable of sleeping through just about anything, and, indeed, hadn't so much as twitched. He was sprawled out on his stomach, breathing steadily. I leaned over and kissed his sleep-flushed cheek, making him smile a bit in his sleep. I wasn't going to wake him up, though, not until it was actually time for me to leave.

I rushed through the shower and pulled on the clothes I had laid out last night. I only had an hour, and I had to make sure I was looking my best. But I couldn't make myself too complicated, because I was going to be changing clothes over and over all day long.

With that in mind, not to mention my lingering tiredness, I slipped on a pair of black jeans and a form fitting sweater. Yes, one of the ones I had promised Dad that I could quit wearing, which had been a total and knowing lie on my part. But sometimes lies must be told in the name of fashion. I didn't cover my freckles either, though I was keeping the tube of concealor in case of an unsightly pimple or other blotch.

By the time I was done in the bathroom it was 4:23, almost time to leave. I sat on the edge of Finn's bed and gently patted his back. He yawned heavily and opened his eyes, blinking at me. "Hey."

"Hey." I touched his cheek lightly, feeling the rasp of a starting beard against my fingers. Finn needed to shave now. I was almost completely sure that he hadn't needed to before the kidnapping. It was weird to think that Finn was almost an adult now, which meant I was too. How could I possibly be almost an adult, when I still felt like such a little kid most of the time?

Finn rolled over and sat up, scrubbing at his eyes. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes. But I promised I would wake you up before I went, so here I am. You might be in bed when I get home, but I'll call at lunch, and you can call me if you need me, alright?" I tried to sound upbeat, and not at all like the thought of leaving him for an entire day, the first time we had been separated for more then a few hours, was causing an actual ache near my heart.

"I'll miss you." He sounded just as heartbroken as I felt.

"You'll be ok." I kissed his cheek. "You and Dad and your Mom go pick out your rat together, and I'll see it when I get home. Do you remember what I said about it?"

He smiled. "Not a hairless one. Anything else is ok." His arms wrapped around me tightly, pulling me down onto the bed. I squeezed him back and was rewarded with a gentle kiss on the lips. "I guess you can go now. If you have to."

"How about I call you when we first get to the mall? Then you don't have to worry about us." I gave him a gentle shove so he would lie down and go back to sleep.

I needn't have worried. He wrapped one arm around Wolf and settled almost immediately. "Ok. Call me."

I grabbed my satchel (which was not a 'dude purse', even though I knew that Finn would never believe me), double checked that Dad's credit card was where it should be, and grabbed my keys. In the kitchen I scribbled a quick note to tell Dad and Carole that I had left, then opened the fridge to grab an apple. Instead, I found a presliced fruit cup with walnuts and a side of yogurt. There was a note attached.

Kurt-

You're Going to need your strength for a day filled with shopping. I made this for you

Good luck with the girls!

Love, Carole

Tears pricked at the backs of my eyes. Carole was working the night shift, which meant she had left at midnight and wouldn't be back until almost 9 this morning. But she had still taken the time to make sure I would have something to hold me over until the girls and I could get some breakfast. I loved her.

That thought pulled me up cold. I loved Carole? Did I?

Do you?

Yes. It wasn't like it had been with Finn, where I had seen him once and just known. This was a slow thing, a love that started out as indifference, and grew into something else. Now I couldn't imagine not having her. I took the fruit cup tenderly, as if it were the most delicate crystal instead of an old plastic cup from Chuck E. Cheese and resolved to tell her how important she was to me as soon as I got home.

I picked up Mercedes first, having to call her twice and bang on her bedroom door before she finally appeared, looking half asleep. "Kurt, I can hear you! Remind me again why we have to drive half way to Paris to go back to school shopping?"

She was always like this in the morning, so I just pointed her towards the bathroom, taking the chance to finish my morning snack in peace. I had known that she would be like this, which was why I had allotted for a little extra time before we had to be at Tina's. "It's just Cleveland, not Paris. And I'll let you have the strawberries out of my fruit cup if you hurry." Well, she could have about half the strawberries. I had already eaten the rest, but there was no reason for her to know that.

It took about 15 minutes, but then she was ready to go. I handed her the cup, which had not only strawberries, but a few blueberries and a hunk or two of some sort of melon. She picked through it. "I thought we were stopping for breakfast."

"We are. But Carole thought I needed something to start the day with, so she made me this. You know that eating within a half hour of waking up revs your metabolism."

She sighed dramatically, then paused. "Carole made it for you? That was nice of her."

As much as I loved Mercedes, I had to admit that subtlety was not her strong point. "It was very nice of her." I knew if I left her hanging, she would keep pressing me for more details.

"So the two of you are getting along better? Less jealousy over the wifely duties?" She was teasing now, and I had to smile.

"Yeah. Which is a good thing; because I'm pretty sure that my father wants to ask her to marry him." That little tidbit was 50% the way he looked at her, and 50% the fact that I was snooping in his laptop at work and found a half dozen sites devoted to wedding rings.

She squealed. "Oh My God, Kurt! That would be awesome! You could plan the wedding, and, of course, I would help, because you need someone to help you tone it down. The Glee club could sing, and you would be the best man, and get to hold the rings and it would be the most romantic-"She had to visibly cut herself off. "Of course, it's only awesome and romantic if you're ok with it. How would you feel about them getting married?"

I shrugged. "Honestly? At this point I think it's a foregone conclusion. With everything that we've made it through so far, can you imagine them not getting married?"

"I guess not, but that doesn't mean that you have to be ok with it." Her hand came up to rub my shoulder, and I leaned into the soothing touch.

"No, it doesn't. But I think I am. I really like having Carole around, and she makes Dad so happy. In two years Finn and I will both be gone, and I like the thought of them having each other. I still miss my own Mom, but Carole takes good care of me, too. So, yeah, I'm ok with it."

"What does Finn think? I can't imagine that he's too thrilled." Mercedes was well aware of the ongoing battle between Dad and Finn.

"I don't think that Finn knows, but, yeah, I can pretty clearly imagine the tantrum." Even though I really, really didn't want to. Finn is capable of becoming quite the hurricane when his temper is aroused, and I did not want to be on the receiving end of that anger.

Do you really think so? He's afraid of your father, yes, but does he actually dislike him? Have you ever actually asked? Because he's indicated several times that he wants things to be better between the two of them, and they're making strides towards that. Don't presume to speak for Finn. He can speak for himself now, so let it happen.

Luckily, Mercedes was unaware of my mental battle, and continued on. "And just how is Mr. Hudson? Still giving off some very mixed signals?"

I wanted to tell her the truth with every part of my soul. But I had made a promise to Finn, and, right now, Finn ranked higher then Mercedes did. It was a strange thought, but not an entirely unwelcome one. I shrugged and sidestepped the question. "Does Finn know how to not give off mixed signals? I think we're sorting it out, though. Did I tell you that he got out of the house a few nights ago and about scared the crap out of me?"

I knew that I hadn't, and my retelling of the night Finn had turned off the alarm (minus the kiss, of course) kept us both entertained until we made it to Tina's. Keeping Finn and my relationship a secret was going to be harder then I thought.

Tina was awake and ready to go, but she signaled me into the house. Standing behind her was a man I vaguely recognized for Glee events. He smiled and held out a hand. "Hello, young man. I'm Samuel Cohen, Tina's Daddy." He smiled at his daughter, who glared back.

I put on my most charming face. "Kurt Hummel. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm sure you understand that I worry about my baby girl spending all day with a boy that I don't know." He peered past me, out at the car. "That Artie boy isn't out there, is he?" Tina put her hands over her face in embarrassment.

"No sir. It's just going to be me, Tina, and Mercedes doing some back to school shopping. I'll be the only boy present." I did my best to project both sincerity and as much homosexuality as possible.

"Alright. It's just that Tina's gotten herself in some trouble with a boy before, and I'm a little wary. Sweetheart, you have fun today, alright? You have my credit card, but don't go over $300." He held out his arms for a hug, and Tina reluctantly squeezed him back. "I love you, Sweetie."

She softened. "I love you too, Daddy. I'll call you when I know what time I'll be home, ok?"

"Yes, Tina. Kurt, I'm trusting you to take good care of her."

"I certainly will." Tina was all but dragging me out the door. "Come on, Kurt, come on!"

I managed to get back in the car before I burst out laughing. Tina scowled at me. "It's not funny, Kurt. Daddy is so overprotective of me! It's like I'm a little girl!"

With a smirk, I looked in the rearview mirror. "I don't know about that. From what I heard in there, I don't think that it's you being a little girl that he's worried about."

Mercedes swung around. "Tina Cohen-Chang, you dirty girl! Tell us all about it."

Even in the semidarkness, I could see her blushing. "There really isn't anything to tell. It was last year, and his name was Mike." She must have seen us getting ready to ask, because she held up a hand. "Not our Mike. He was my boyfriend, I guess, and I may have gotten caught in the basement of the middle school."

I whistled and Mercedes laughed. "Nice. Were you naked?"

"Um, no. Not really." She gestured vaguely around her chest. "I had my shirt off, though."

"No way. Was your bra off?" Mercedes was all but climbing over the seat to get the rest of the story.

Tina snorted. "You mean my training bra? Please, I barely have any breasts now, much less two years ago. But no, it wasn't off. I may have let him put his hand under it, though."

Mercedes and I both laughed. "That's it? From the way your father was eyeballing me, I thought that it had been much kinkier."

I wouldn't laugh so hard, Kurt. It's much further then you've gotten.

So basically that voice was telling me to push and scare Finn, just so I could prove that I was a bigger tramp then Tina had been? I don't think so. Moving forward was Finn's choice, and his alone, not the prerogative of some bitchy horny creature that lived in the back of my brain.

The voice in my brain did, however, have a direct line to Tina's brain, because she smirked at me. "And how far have you gotten?"

Her smug tone prompted Mercedes to join in on my humiliation. "Tina, not nice. I'm sure Kurt and Handrew are quite deeply in love, and they've probably gone all the way more then once."

God I wanted to tell them both the truth, that maybe I hadn't let Finn under my top (not that I had anything under there, but, then, neither did Quinn or Rachel), but I had gotten three of the most mind blowing kisses that anyone had ever received, and that topped Tina's middle school groping by about a million times. "My masturbatory habits are absolutely none of your business you perverts." Then, in a moment of pure immaturity, I licked the palm of my hand and rubbed it on Mercedes' cheek. "Handrew says that he's leaving me for you, though."

She giggled and kissed my palm. "Oh, Handrew, this is a dream come true. I've always had fantasies about you, but I thought we could never be…together in that way. Of course the answer is yes!"

All three of us laughed, and I was surprised at how freeing it felt. For once, I was just able to be me, and not have to worry about trials or rapists or the upcoming school year. It was just me and the girls, going shopping, and having fun. Tina tapped my shoulder. "If she gets Handrew, who do I get?"

"You get Artie." Mercedes gave her a look. "I get Handrew because I don't have a real man."

Tina scowled. "I'd probably get further with Handrew then I have with Artie. Shit, I'd probably get further with Kurt."

I switched hands on the wheel. "Have you met Palmer?"

We all cracked up again. "Girls, start watching for somewhere to eat. Tina, you and Palmer have a date for later."

"Can Palmer cook? Because if he can't, I might have to stick with Artie."

"Sorry, Palmer believes in take-out. It was beautiful while it lasted, though." I turned on the radio to forestall any further questions about Finn and my sex life. I had never had such a problem keeping a secret in my entire life. After all, I had kept the fact that I was gay a secret from the entire world for 6 years. Though apparently everyone else knew right away, I didn't figure it out until I saw Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in Dogma on HBO. Staring at them, I felt something in my heart (and my pants) that I had never felt, and never would feel, for a woman.

But this was different. My sexuality was my secret, to be shared when I was comfortable. This was Finn's secret as well, and I had promised that I would keep it. So it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

The girls insisted on stopping at an IHOP, so I acquiesced and pulled in. I had already had a healthy snack, and eggs were the good kind of cholesterol anyway.

Mercedes skipped out to the bathroom after we ordered, leaving Tina and I alone. She fussed with her coffee and didn't meet my eyes, suddenly shy. I didn't understand what she found so threatening about me, considering that she could undoubtedly kick my ass (I could probably hit harder, since I do have some muscle, but never underestimate a girl for sheer meanness), but I had long since concluded that it wasn't me so much as it was everyone. Finn was closer to her then I was, something I found endlessly amusing, but he wasn't revealing his secrets. I had really thought that she and I were becoming friends.

"So did Finn finally kiss you or not?" Apparently the shyness was because she was getting ready to drop the bomb on me.

I choked on thin air. "What?"

"I just….I thought that maybe he had kissed you. You look all happy and-"She gestured at my face. "-sparkly."

My voice had deserted me, and I spent several seconds gasping helplessly before I recovered. "Why would you think that Finn wanted to kiss me?" Just what were the two of them talking about when she came over?

Kissing you, obviously.

She shrugged and added another creamer to her coffee. I knew her well enough by now to know that she didn't usually take that much creamer, so she had to be avoiding my eyes. "I just did."

"Did he talk to you about it?" I'm not sure why the thought bothered me. Tina clearly didn't know if Finn had made a move or not, and we had agreed that we wouldn't tell anyone what was happening only after we had kissed for the first time. Really, I should be flattered that Finn was so interested that he had asked Tina about me.

"Um, no. Not really." Her head bowed, and her hair tumbled down to cover her face. I made a mental not to ask her what sort of conditioner she was using because her hair was gorgeous and shiny. Not now, though, now I had to know about Finn and exactly how long he had been thinking about me.

I leaned back in my chair and didn't take my eyes off of Tina, but I didn't speak either. I knew that I was on a deadline here, since Mercedes wouldn't stay in the bathroom forever, but pushing her right now would be the worst move possible. Just like with Finn, she would come to me when she was ready.

Tina's not as good at holding out as Finn is, and it only took a few seconds before she cracked. "He's been asking me a lot of questions the past few days."

Since I was facing the bathroom, I could see Mercedes coming out. I shot her a look and slightly jerked my head. She nodded and leaned against the wall, giving Tina and I the privacy we needed. "What sort of questions?"

"About you."

This was like pulling teeth. "What was he asking?"

"Nothing sexual. Just about what kind of things you liked and stuff. He really wanted to make you happy. But he's never asked me like that before." I could tell that she was just trying to make me feel better, that she had no idea what was really happening. But it was sweet that Finn had thought to ask.

"Oh, what did you tell him?" I tried not to sound too eager, but I ended up failing miserably.

"I told him a few things, but then I told him that if he was that curious, that he could ask you himself." She shot me a sassy smirk. "That was good right?"

"That was perfect." I caught Mercedes' eye over Tina's head and signaled that she could come over. I knew that this was a good sign, one that Finn was attracted to me before I had made a move, but it only left me feeling more confused. Were things ever going to be easy with Finn?

Not a chance.

My best girl sat down heavily. "So, what did I miss?"

"Finn being a confusing bastard." I couldn't help but be a little irritable.

She smirked at me. "Aw, is someone sleepy? He's very cranky."

Actually, I kind of was. A certain amount of sleep was required to look this good on a regular basis, and I hadn't been getting enough. "Kind of."

"Would massive sales perk you up?" She sipped at her orange juice, her dark eyes focused on me. She wasn't fooled by the change of subject, but she was willing to let it go for now. Later on though, I was going to pay for this one.

"Probably, but not as much as this coffee will." I drank it black, relishing the burn in the back of my throat.

Our food arrived, and I busied myself buttering my toast and cutting my eggs into small bites. I couldn't help but think about Finn, and wonder if he was awake or not. On a normal day, he wouldn't be up before 9, but this wasn't a normal day. I was gone, and maybe that would upset him enough that he would be awake early.

It won't. Right now Finn is passed out, perfectly happy and safe. If, on the off chance, he is awake, it's because he's so excited about the possibility of filling your basement with rodentia. He's fine, now quit inviting trouble.

Maybe I should call.

It's 6 in the morning! If Finn even hears the phone ring, and that's rather doubtful, all you're going to get is someone who's too groggy to even know which end o f the phone to hold up. Let him sleep.

"Are you talking about your new boyfriend, Finn?" Mercedes wasn't looking at me, so she didn't see the horrified expression on my face. However, I sat there gaping like a fish long enough that she still had plenty of time to look up and see it. "Did I hit a nerve, there? Because, Kurt, we've talked about this. Finn is sweet and adorable in a dumb kind of way, and he's capable of being quite loving when the right mood strikes him. But if he wanted to make a move, he would have done it already."

Only he had. Sort of. I mean, we were boyfriends, except we had never actually called it that. Just 'together'. He had seen me naked, even though that was sort of a mistake. I hadn't really touched him, and he hadn't touched me.

He put his hand under your shirt, remember? He wanted to touch you; he just wasn't sure how to go about it in a way that wasn't too predatory. He wants things to be good for you.

That was true. But it had nothing to do with how I was going to put Mercedes off right now. "I know. If Finn wanted me, he would have done something by now." I just wasn't going to tell her that he had already done it.

"Did he?" Sometimes Mercedes is too smart for her own good.

"Why would you ask that?" I wasn't sure why I bothered asking that, since my avoidance was as good as a flat out yes.

She laughed. "Because you were so quiet this morning. Usually you start off with a running commentary of what Finn's been up to, and the way he looks at you that might mean some thing but might not, and the progress he's making. Or you just complain about his inability to pick up after himself or eat anything not deep fried or stewing in preservatives. But not today. Today I had to ask about him, which tells me that you're hiding something."

"Because I don't babble on constantly about the boy that both of you have told me to get over?" I was getting that slightly hysterical note in my voice, and that never ended well. I forced it down to normal. "You should both be taking that as a sign of progress."

They exchanged looks, doing that strange girl-telepathy that always made me think of Village of the Damned. Finally Tina giggled and Mercedes smirked. "It would be, if you weren't blushing the same color as your shirt. "

I wasn't going to get out of this by denying it, so I tried appealing to their softer sides. "Look, can we just drop it? Finn didn't want me to tell anyone, and he'd be so miserable if he knew that I had."

Both of them had become extremely protective of Finn, and my words quieted them down. It wouldn't work forever, but for now the subject was considered closed. I made myself perk up so I could change the subject. "Let's lay out a game plan. Just what is it that everyone needs?"

Things started moving quickly then, while I tried to figure out the best way to approach today. I needed a quite a few outfits, even considering that I was going to be shopping with Finn next week. Sometime over the summer I had shot up nearly 4 inches, and nothing I owned fit right any more. It was beyond depressing to look into my closet, at all of my precious clothing, and know that I couldn't wear any of it any more.

The strange thing was, I had barely even noticed that I was growing. It had actually been Finn who had taken both of my hands and pulled my body up against his. I had frozen in place, not sure of where he was going with it, but all he had done was rest a hand on top of my head, then draw an invisible line to his throat. Then he had given me his patented goofy Finn smile. "You're taller. Like, a lot, dude."

Naturally, I had had to check myself against the doorframe, where Dad marked my height each year. Yep, taller. After all this time, it was finally happening!

Then I found out that I wasn't done, and that I was going to have to deal with things like growing pains and an appetite better suited to a lumberjack (or Finn) and being grouchy all the time. Maybe I should have just been happy with the height I had.

Whine, whine, whine. You're becoming exactly who you're supposed to be, and there's nothing you can do to change that. Just enjoy not having to climb on the counter to reach your breakfast cereal.

Since neither one of the girls had grown an inch, they only needed a few new outfits and some current accessories to jazz up what they had already. Tina wasn't going to accept much input from me, no matter what I tried. She had her own sense of style, and, after the debacle with Figgins and the vampires, she wasn't going to let anyone try and change it for her. This was mostly a social trip for her, but she would probably let me choose a few things that were in line with what she had already chosen for herself.

Mercedes was more likely to listen to my suggestions, so I concentrated on her. She had the gorgeous eyes and a skin tone that I would kill for, and I wanted to play that up for her. I was secondary here, especially since I would be shopping again with Finn in a few days.

There were two malls that might have appropriate offerings, as well as a few smaller shops and boutiques. I used my phone to pull up a map and chart our trip. "Ok, girls, how does this look?"

They both crowded around to peek at it. Tina groaned when she saw the sheer number of shops we planned to visit. "Is this going to be the sort of trip that involves lunch and dinner?"

"It's a three hour drive each way, Tina. Don't you think that we should take full advantage of our time here?"

She didn't say anything, but I didn't miss the way she rolled her eyes heavenward and crossed herself. I gave her a gentle kick under the table. "It's not that bad."

Another deep sigh. "Are you sure that Finn will be alright for that long? I mean, have the two of you ever been separated for that long?"

Nice one. Apparently you're not the only one who can use the 'poor little Finn' weapon.

I squared my shoulders. "Finn will be just fine. I'll call and check up on him, and he knows the number if he needs me."

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" Her easy smile told me that she didn't really want to, that she would put up with the shopping demon gladly.

"Not a chance, Baby Girl." I leaned over to kiss her cheek, to let her know that I wasn't upset either.

Fueled by an extra large breakfast and the excitement of spending an entire day with friends and no supervision, we hit store after store, picking up things for the girls first, then me. It was one of the few days that I had had to enjoy myself with friends since the morning that I had woken up to Dad telling me that Finn was gone.

We were at the fourth store, in the middle of the first mall when it went bad. It was just Mercedes and I, since Tina had snuck off to go to Hot Topic. Well, that's what she claimed she was doing. Considering the way she had eyed the pretzel kiosk as we came in, I strongly suspected she had stopped for a snack.

I was watching Mercedes model her dozenth outfit of the day, sighing irritably. How many times did I have to tell her that there was no way to make zebra stripes look good, no matter what color she tried to fool me with? "No, Mercedes. For the love of all that is designer and holy, you are not buying that." She started to protest, and I held up a hand to stop her. "Mercedes, I am here for a reason, and that reason is to prevent you from making the most hideous of fashion mistakes. The answer is no. If you can convince someone else to drag you to Cleveland and buy it, my hands are clean, but not today."

She huffed and stomped back to the dressing room, muttering things under her breath that would have shocked most people. "Nice, Mercedes. Do you kiss your mother with that damn mouth?"

"Do you kiss Finn with that one?" She was back inside the dressing room, but didn't have to be able to see me to know when she had scored a point.

"You're a bitch, Mercedes." I sat back down in one of the chairs outside the dressing room, sighing heavily. Why did every fashion decision end up falling on my shoulders?

I was plotting our next move when I became aware of eyes trained on me. Predatory eyes, the same thing I felt when the hockey team was getting on my case again. I straightened my shoulders and met the eyes of a man sitting on the other side of the dressing room. Judging by the purse sitting in his lap, he was waiting for a wife or girlfriend. I affected an air of indifference. "Can I help you with something?"

His eyes narrowed. "Only by dying. Fucking fags like you shouldn't be allowed out in public with us normal people."

No matter how many times I heard those words, they never failed to make me feel like I'd been punched in the gut. But I had heard worse, and I wasn't gone to let him back me down. Showing fear was a guarantee of having my ass kicked. "Look, asshole, I'm not the one carrying a purse."

He bristled, but he couldn't deny the purse's existence. "This is my girlfriends purse, you ass pirate. You probably don't even know what a girlfriend is. What is it with you freaks and fat black chicks?"

You know what, you can say what you want about me, but do not talk about my friends like that. I stood up to say something so terrible that he would never forget it, every muscle in my body tense.

Kurt, pick your battles. Yes, this guy is an asshole, and God knows I would love it if you would just kick his ass, but let's be realistic. He's the size of Finn, and bruises will clash with everything you own. Just let it go.

I hated to act like a coward, but I had to admit that that voice had a point. Sometimes discretion was the better part of valor and I might just be better off just getting Mercedes and leaving quietly.

Arms wrapped around my neck, and I felt lips on the side of my neck. "Hi, Babydoll." The breath blew across my cheek, smelling suspiciously like mustard and a soft pretzel. Tina had come through for me. "Who's he?"

The man was momentarily thrown by the appearance of the hot Asian chick, one who seemed to be dating me. I turned my head away. "Just some homophobic asshole."

My declaration was timed perfectly to coincide with the appearance of a rather pretty woman who had just exited the dressing room. She shot an evil look at my companion. She cuffed him on the side of the head. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you need to pick a fight with everyone in the world while we're supposed to be spending time together?" She grabbed his hand and yanked him up, a scowl creasing her lovely features.

Ah, karma.

Exactly. Tina squeezed my shoulder and whispered in my ear. "Was he bugging you? I couldn't hear what he was saying, but he looked pretty pissed."

I sighed and did my best to put it out of my mind. No matter how much they hurt, I couldn't let some words ruin my special day. "Yeah, but I had it under control."

Liar. You were going to wuss.

Tina didn't need to know that, though. As far as she knew, I was every bit as tough as I pretended to be. "Just don't tell Mercedes, ok? She'll kick his ass, and we do not have either the time or the money to bail her out of jail."

There was the tiniest flash of pity in her eyes, gone nearly as quickly as it appeared. She knew as well as I did that the reason I didn't want Mercedes to know had less to do with her doing the guy any harm (though that was a valid worry), and more to do with shame. But one of the nice things about Tina is her sensitivity to others, and she wasn't about to call me on it. "Sure."

"You're the best." My voice was flippant, like none of this bothered me at all. "Can you get Mercedes together while I call Finn? We're behind schedule and I forgot to call him earlier. Do not, under any circumstances, let her buy anything with zebra stripes. Got it?"

"Got it." She went into the dressing room, and I dialed home. Hopefully Finn wouldn't be too upset about me forgetting to call like I had promised.

"Hello?" It wasn't Finn at all, but Dad.

"Hi, Dad. Is Finn around?"

"He's downstairs sulking. Give me a minute, and I'll go get him." There was some background noise, and I knew he was taking the portable phone down to Finn. I wondered if Finn was sulking because I hadn't called, or if something else had happened. "How much damage are you doing to my bank account?"

"None. We haven't hit any of the stores I wanted to shop at yet. Don't worry, though, I'm not going over budget. I still have Finn to drag shopping next week." Then I remembered something else. "I did pay for breakfast for the girls, though."

"That was good. Girls should always be treated with respect, even if you're not….well, even if you like boys."

The words were awkward, but they did make me smile a little bit. Dad still could hardly face the idea of saying 'gay', but 'like boys' was a million times better then having him do that funny hand gesture and say 'you know, like you are.'.

While I was thinking that, there was a soft mummer of voices, and Finn came on the phone. "Hello."

Oh, yeah, he was definitely sulking. Discontent saturated the two syllables and shot through the phone. "What's wrong, Cowboy?"

He sighed deeply. "Mom got called into work."

In other words, Finn was trapped in the house with my father, without anyone to run interference between them. I needed to fix this.

How? Do you think that you can take two minutes to think about it before you freak out? Even if you grab the girls and leave right now, you're looking at another three and a half hours to get home. And by doing so, you reinforce to Finn that your father is dangerous, and they can't be allowed to be alone together or something terrible will happen. Do not, under any circumstances, go home to Finn. This is called being cruel to be kind, and you have to suck it up and do it.

I got that. But it still hurt for me to have to do this. "I'm sorry to hear that. How are you holding up?"

"Good, I guess. Your Dad made us hamburgers for lunch and that was pretty cool. But Mom has to work until 8, so I don't get to go to the pet store today either, an then tomorrow's Sunday. I've been super patient, but I'm getting tired of it."

So that was what he was sulking about. I tried to tread carefully. "You know, Dad would still take you if you asked him. I'd offer to do it for you, but there's just no way I'd be able to get home in time."

This was the test. Would Finn's desire to go to the store win over his fear of my father? Maybe that would be too big of a step.

"I guess." The words were drawn out in a way that told me he was trying desperately to think of a way out of it.

I didn't say anything. This was Finn's choice, and the only one who could make it was him. The bet thing I could do right now was just change the subject. "I'm sorry I forgot to call."

"That's ok. I didn't get up until, like, an hour ago anyway." He yawned a little into the phone. "It's kind of cool to actually have hot water for once."

I smiled fondly, even though he couldn't see me. "Lazybones." My tone was pure affection, and Finn ate it up.

"Well, why should I get up? You're not here, and Mr. Shue's at some stupid conference and now Mom's gone, too. I'm so board that I'm actually doing my homework!"

For Finn, that was the height of boredom. "I'm sorry, Cowboy. But I'll check it over for you tonight, ok? Maybe if you're a good boy and do all of your work, I'll give you a special surprise."

He sucked in a sharp breath, and I knew that I had pushed it too far. I shouldn't have made any sort of sexual innuendo, and now he expected that I would follow through with it, whether he wanted to or not. My mind was racing, trying to figure out how to fix this, when Finn spoke again. "Like another fortune cookie?"

I grabbed the out I had been offered. "Better. Maybe even a slice of cheesecake."

There are very few things in this world that Finn likes more then cheesecake, so I knew that that would make him happy. Sure enough, he gave a contented sigh into the phone. "Really?"

"If I can find one. I'll definitely bring you something, though."

"Awesome!" I knew that whatever I brought home, no matter how small, would be received with complete enthusiasm. Whether it was a candy bar or an X-box, Finn would be thrilled to have it.

"Ok, Finn, I just wanted to call and let you know that we were safe. I'll see you later tonight." I still wanted to rush back to him with every part of my body and soul, but I tamped it down. It would only be another two weeks before I was back in school and Finn and I would be separated all day, every day.

Does that actually make you feel better about it?

No. Actually, it made me feel even worse. I missed Finn when we were separated for an hour, what was I going to do when we were apart all day long, five days a week?

You'll survive. What else could you possibly plan on doing?

Thank you, voice of reason. For just one second, could I just be allowed to whine? Even if it was just in my own head?

Go for it. I won't tell anyone, I promise.

I swear my own mental voice just winked at me. Belatedly, I realized that Finn was talking again, trying to tell me good bye. "Bye, Cowboy." I waited until he disconnected the call before hanging up myself and sighing deeply.

Mercedes smirked at my side. "You've got it bad."

I just didn't have the strength left to argue with her. "Yeah." It came out tired sounding.

She gave me a hug. "There's still hope."

More then she knew. "I know. But I don't want to talk about Finn right now. Can we just get on with the rest of our day?"

That was, of course, a lie. I wanted desperately to talk about Finn, and the confusing new journey we were taking together, but I couldn't. So instead I closed my eyes and hoped that there would be no major mishaps for the rest of the day.

As it turned out, there weren't. The three of us bounced from store to store, choosing things and having fun. I managed to pick up quite a few outfits for myself, and the girls were set up with things that were classic enough to get them through the entire year. By an unspoken agreement, none of us brought up Finn again. I did try and call him while we were enjoying an early dinner, but no one picked up.

We were halfway home before I remembered that I had promised Finn cheesecake. He would be happy with something else, but I couldn't bear the thought of the disappointment in his eyes if I brought home nothing. I voiced my concern to the girls, who nodded sagely.

"Just stop at an Outback or something. They have really good cheesecake and I'll bet you don't have to wait for it at all." Mercedes stretched. "Actually, get two pieces."

"Finn does not need two pieces. One piece will have enough sugar to send him blasting through the roof, and I want him to be able to sleep tonight."

She snorted. "Please. The second piece is for me." She must have known that I was about to say something, because she held up her hand. "Kurt, I love you, but you do not get in between a fat girl and her cheesecake."

I still might have tried, but Tina pushed herself in between the seats. "Make it three."

Kurt, I'm going to tell you something right now: Do not open your mouth to say anything but 'ok'. You are outnumbered two to one, and you need your attention to be on the road instead of worrying whether or not you're about to be stabbed to death over a slice of cheesecake.

I bowed to the voices wisdom and found an Outback. 20 minutes and three slices of cheesecake later, we were back on the road and headed home.

Home to Finn.

Home to Finn.