A/N: Darn it. I had a plot bunny visitation (in my head) while I was at work tonight. When I got home from work (at MIDNIGHT!) I had to type it up straight away - then edit it and then post it.
It's only short, but full of interesting stuff (not unlike Darren Criss actually!) ;P

Sorry about how Finn talks - it just needs to be that hard to read. Imagine trying to LISTEN to it!

Feel free to write a 40 page review. (wait, hoe many characters are we allowed again?) - oh well, enjoy your days - I have to start work at 11 AM tomorrow (well , technically today) and it's now 3.30am so... ni ni all!

DISCLAIMER: I am not trying to own Glee. I don't own many things that START with a G either. (eg. no golf clubs, gyro-copters or g-strings)


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Finn Hudson was picking beef meatballs off the slice of cold pizza he was munching on and throwing them to a tired but happy Dog.

"...and then Brittany and Santana were arguing with Quinn about who's house Steffi should live at after she gets discharged and then Quinn's mom started to cry and then Kurt was trying to get them all to calm down but none of the girls would listen and then Blaine started to talk to them and it was freaky, because they all just started to grin and nod and agree with whatever he was saying and I must have zoned out a little because next thing I know Kurt is sneaking me and Dog down the corridor and we run straight into Coach Sylvester who just looks at the three of us and says 'Porcelain, does that flea-ridden mongrel belong to you?' and Kurt says 'No Coach, he's Dave Karofsky's' and Coach Sylvester just squats down so she can stare into Dog's eyes and she just, like, STARES for a few seconds and then she nods and says 'You look after him, he'll look after you' then she escorts us out of the building and Kurt was trying to shield us and she turns to him and says 'Porcelain, just stop that, it's giving me a headache' and it was weird because every nurse or doctor who saw us coming just acted like they didn't see any of us and Kurt was like whispering 'It's not me' and then he started looking at Coach really funny and when we got to the car park she just took his hand and looked at his ring and she SMILED and it was really scary, like even scarier than when she pushes kids into lockers and she just nodded at Kurt, and he just looked her in the eye and she SMILED again and then we sat in the car and waited for Blaine to catch up and Kurt looked really upset, but not about Coach Sylvester, I think it was about something else but he wouldn't talk to me and Blaine tried and Kurt just did his pinched face thing and Blaine said they would talk when we got home and that's why he just ran straight to his room and hasn't come back down."

Burt and Carole sat on the sofa and listened to Finn chew.
Dog looked over at them.

/COACH FIERCE/image of wolf baring teeth/ PROTECT HER PACK/ image of various Cheerios, image of Kurt/HELP PROTECT DAVE TOO/

Finn burped and stood up. Before Carole or Burt could say anything he bent down and picked up the pizza box and took it into the kitchen to put it in the trash.

Dog noted the confusion on their faces.

/VACUUM CLEANER SICK OF MESS/sound of engine clogging up/IT TALK TO XBOX/image of blank screen and silent speakers/FINN TIDY OR NO GAMES/

Dog went outside to his bed on the back porch.

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Carole laughed. "If I had realised that all I needed to get Finn to tidy up after himself was to find a magic ring and bring my electronic equipment to life, I'd have done it years ago!"

Burt kissed her as he joined in on the chuckles.

"Time for bed? I'll make up the couch for Blaine."

Carole frowned at him, "Burt..."

"No Carole, and please, I don't want to argue about this tonight, OK?"

Carole shook her head sadly and went to have a shower while Burt got the bedding from the closet in the hall and made up a bed for Blaine.

Finn handed him the pillows as he went past to his own room to get ready for bed.

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Several minutes later Burt was standing outside Kurt's room, frowning at the almost closed door.

It had taken some doing, but Burt had finally threatened to throw in the trash any light fitting or electrical equipment that flickered or buzzed to warn Kurt of his approach.
Burt still felt a little guilty about it, but Kurt was his son, and Burt wasn't about to let him be hurt by anyone, not even by himself.

Burt was about to knock when he heard Kurt's voice.

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"Blaine, please don't go back downstairs, stay here with me."

"No Kurt, "Blaine sounded like he had been arguing this point for hours, "I want to stay here as much as you want me to stay, but your Dad just isn't comfortable with us sharing a room, let alone a bed."

Kurt's sigh sounded so sad, Burt felt his own heart ache in response.

Blaine sounded concerned as he spoke.
"Are you sure you're ok now Kurt? If you aren't then I can go ask Burt if he'll give us a few more minutes to talk it through some more."

"Talking won't help Blaine, "Kurt snapped, "It's my fault Dave is in so much pain. It's my fault he will never play football again, hell, he might never be able to even walk again. I made the wish. I pulled him back. Lord Tubbington and Grandpa Pang have both told us that what I did shouldn't be done, but I did it, and now Dave is living in hell and it's MY FAULT!"

"They said it COULDN'T be done Kurt. "Blaine sounded so calming and reasonable, "And those wishes belong to BOTH of us, remember? We created them. They are a manifestation of our love. So anything you do with them, I do too. Do you really believe Dave would be better off dead?"

There was silence. Burt wondered what silent communication Kurt was giving his boyfriend. Probably his bitch-glare, Burt thought, it was his usual standby.

Kurt stifled a small sob.
"What if he's in that chair for the rest of his life? How will he ever be able to forgive me, us?"

"Do you think your friend Artie should die?" Blaine sounded so sad too. "I mean, he's in a chair too."

"No!"

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"Then what's so wrong with Dave never healing? But Kurt, he is going to be ok. Remember, you wished for him to heal, and he is, it just might take a little longer than we hoped. You have to stop blaming yourself for everything. We fix what we can. We try to help where we can. We can't solve all the world's problems. We can't heal all the world's ills. All we can do is help those we meet as best we can. All we can do is help those we love to do the same."

Burt could hear his son gently weeping now.

"All we can do Kurt, is love each other with all our beings and hope that that is enough."

Burt felt his aching heart ease, even as he heard Kurt sigh, and the sound of a gentle kiss.

"Please..." Kurt sounded so young.

"I won't go against Burt's wishes Kurt. And you know you won't either."

"But it isn't fair, "Kurt sounded exhausted, "It's not like we're going to do anything 'inappropriate'. It's not like we're going to DO anything at all! I just want to hold you. I just want to wake up with you next to me. "

"I want that too Kurt, "Blaine sounded equally tired.

"You must get disturbed when Dad or Finn or Carole gets up in the night, or when they are getting ready for work in the morning, don't you?"

"It's ok Kurt, you know I sleep like a log once I finally drop off. You've had to pour water on me before today to get me moving when we sleep over at my place."

"I won't be able to get to sleep at all without you beside me!"
Kurt made one last effort to persuade his boyfriend to stay.

"Goodnight Kurt, I love you."

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Burt hurried away to avoid being caught snooping and heard Blaine walking down the stairs towards the living room.
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Eventually, the house went silent.

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An hour or two later Burt quietly made his way to the kitchen to grab a drink of water.

He peeked his head through Kurt's partially open door to check on him, and noted that Kurt was fast asleep. His position looked uncomfortable, however. Kurt lay on his side, curled almost into a ball. Every now and then an arm or a leg would reach out as if searching for something. As if looking for contact with something that should be there, only to curl back in on itself when it found only open space.

As he passed through the living room he saw that Blaine was sprawled on his stomach on the couch, deep in sleep. Burt knew Blaine wasn't the tallest guy in the world, but lying there he looked so...small... so young.
Blaine's hand was curled as his arm dangled over the edge of the sofa.

It looked for all the world as though Blaine had been reaching for something over the edge of the couch and had fallen into a coma just as his hand had touched it.

Burt looked closer at Blaine's face and noticed the tell-tale tracks of tears.

He stood watching the boy sleep for... he couldn't tell you how long.

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Carole came downstairs and found Burt standing in the kitchen doorway, staring at Blaine's sleeping form.

"Are you alright Burt?" She whispered.

Burt nodded silently and continued his observation.
Carole grabbed a chair from the dining table and brought it over. Then she went back and grabbed another chair and sat on it, pulling Burt down into the one she had placed behind him.

"What's wrong honey?" She murmured softly.

Burt was silent for a long time.

"...Kurt is my baby boy, "He finally whispered, "I have a duty to protect him."

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Carole sighed and leant into his warm body.

"Kurt is your baby Burt, but he isn't a baby anymore."

Burt shook his head.

"He's still so young..."

"Time will have to take care of that, Burt, we can't do anything about it."

"He's going to make mistakes..."

"Would you rather he never tried in the first place?"

Burt was silent again.

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"...He's going to leave me."

Carole reached out and held Burt's hand, her thumb stroking the knuckles. She loved Burt's hand. It was large and rugged, like him, but his touch was so gentle, and his grip so safe and comforting.

"Our kids always leave us Burt, "She sighed eventually, "Sometimes kids run away from home. Sometimes we push them out. Sometimes it seems like they'll never leave, then one day..."

Burt wound his arm around his wife and they sat and watched Blaine sleep.

Burt sighed.

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"Blaine is a good kid."

Carole agreed, "Blaine is a good MAN. His age is immaterial. He is one of the most responsible, kind and caring MEN I have ever met. He reminds me an awful lot of a certain ruggedly handsome mechanic I know..."

Burt scoffed quietly and looked at her with raised brows.

"...I'm serious Burt! " Carole smiled at him, "Not that he looks like you or anything. The poor boy will never have your rugged charms, but he is as kind and compassionate and fiercely loyal as you Burt. He is honest and hard working. He's gentle and smart and so full of love. I'm not at all surprised that Kurt fell head over heels for Blaine. Kurt worships you Burt, and as soon as I saw that Blaine had all your qualities I knew he was the one."

Burt's eyes shone with unshed tears as he heard the love in Carole's voice. Love for Blaine, for Kurt and especially love for him.

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"They're going to get married you know Burt, Blaine and your son."

"Our son." Burt's tears were falling now.

Carole bit her lip to stop from crying too.

"They are going to get married. They're going to move away from us. They'll go to college, have adventures, change the world. They'll have kids one day, somehow. Adoption? Surrogates? Hell, with all the magic flying around I wouldn't be shocked if one of them managed to find a way to get pregnant! "

Burt stifled a laugh though his tears didn't cease.

"All we can do as parents is to teach our kids the values they'll need in the world. We need to teach them to love themselves and to love others. We need to teach them to BE themselves Burt. And then we need to let them go."

Burt marvelled at the woman he had married.

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"You taught Kurt how to ride a bike didn't you?"

Burt nodded.

"You didn't try to hold his hand all the time though. Did you? Eventually you had to let him go. Maybe he fell a few times, and you had to pick him up, but eventually he took off down the street with a look of joy on his face and streamers waving madly behind him. Pink one's I bet!"

Burt snorted.

"They were blue and green, to match his eyes."

Carole nodded. No surprise there.

"But this time Burt, I don't think you'll need to pick him up every time. He's found someone special. I think they will be able to pick each other up if they fall from now on. He'll always need you Burt, but he can ride on his own now, you don't need to carry him anymore."

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Burt nodded and stood up.

"My carrying days aren't quite done though."

Carole looked at him in puzzlement.

"Will you get the door for me?"

Carole realised what Burt intended and her tears flowed again.
She took the edge of the blanket covering Blaine and pulled it back.
Blaine stirred a little, but remained fast asleep.
Burt moved to the deeply sleeping boy and without any effort at all, it seemed, picked him up.

Cradled in Burt's arms like a small child Blaine looked so peaceful, his head resting against Burt's flannel covered shoulder.

Carole moved past them as she darted up the stairs and opened Kurt's door.

She pulled back Kurt's sheet. Kurt moved slightly, but didn't wake up.
A few seconds later Burt was gently laying the still sleeping Blaine down beside his son.

Carole covered the two boys with the white cotton sheet.

Even as Burt was straightening up, he saw Blaine's hand reaching out, only to be met by Kurt's. Both boys sighed in their sleep and Burt and Carole saw the last traces of tension leave their sleeping faces.

Burt motioned towards the door.
Once in the hall, Burt went downstairs to get that drink he had originally gone looking for.
Carole followed him.

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On the way back to their room they stopped at Kurt's door.

Peeking in Burt and Carole saw that the two boys had found each other in their sleep.
They were spooning.

Blaine lay on his side, a gentle smile gracing his face.

Behind him, close behind him, Kurt lay on his side also, his torso pressed against the curve of Blaine's back, both arms wrapped around the slightly shorter boy.

Blaine held Kurt's arms to his chest as Kurt's pale cheek rested upon the cloud-like softness of Blaine's dark curls.

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Burt saw the peace in his son's face.

As Blaine moved slightly in his sleep Kurt moved with him, pressing even closer to his warm body. Kurt's lips brushed against the whorls of Blaine's ear and both boys sighed in unison. Their breaths began to slowly rise and fall in almost perfect synchronisation.

It was both the most sexual and the most innocent thing Burt and Carole had ever seen.

Burt nodded to himself, and took Carole by the hand as he closed Kurt's door all the way.

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"Let's go get some sleep." He whispered.

"Can we spoon? "Carole flirted.

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Burt smiled wryly.

"I thought you'd never ask."