Kurt and Noah are left alone in the room.

Noah struggles to sit up, the drugs are messing with his coordination. Kurt walks over to Noah gently placing his hands on his shoulders steadying the larger boy.

"Thanks Kurt", Noah offers a lopsided smile as he leans his head on Kurt's chest. "Just got to catch my breath and let the room stop spinning."

"Why did you ask me to stay and help you?" Kurt asks stroking Noah's hair. He feels Noah take a deep breath.

"Because I'm not afraid of you and I know you, Princess."

"Oh."

"And I feel like I can trust you. Sex isn't a weapon for you Kurt." The last words are laced with bitterness.

Kurt walks over to the chair and grabs a bag of clothes that are for Noah. He thinks about what Noah just said to him and doesn't press for any further information.

Kurt grabs a pair of sweat pants that are a size too large for Noah, boxers, socks, and a long sleeve tee shirt.

"Thank you Noah. You can trust me when you are ready to talk and know that I would never tell anyone what you tell me."

Kurt looks at Noah sitting on the edge of the bed, seeing him, really seeing him. The sight takes his breath away.

There are so many bruises peeking out from the edges of the bandage. The swollen lip and the black bruise that covers almost half his face.

A tear escapes Kurt's eyes as the untold horror stories scream from Noah's body. He knew it was bad but not this bad.

Noah looks up at Kurt and sees his friend staring at him with tears in his eyes.

"Princess, please don't cry. I don't think I can handle that."

Kurt walks over to Noah. He lays the clothes on the bed beside his battered friend.

He reaches for Noah's hand and squeezes it.

"I will do my best to conceal them, but I can't guarantee that I will be able to stop them from falling." Kurt uses his free hand to wipe the tear away.

Noah nods his head and reaches for the shirt. He slips his arms into it without any problem, but raising his arms proves to be difficult.

Kurt sees Noah struggling with the shirt and grabs him gently by the arms.

"Here let me help."

He takes the shirt off Noah's arms and stretches the collar out just a bit.

"Lets try this way. I am going to pull it over your big head first and then you can try to put your arms in, okay?"

Kurt watches Noah try to smirk at him, but his lip is too swollen for it.

"Big head huh? Didn't know you ever checked me out?"

He winks at Kurt.

Kurt knows that Noah is trying to be his old self and that made him feel better.

"It is only surpassed by your ego, Braveheart."

He tugs the shirt over Noah's head being careful of the stitches in his lip.

Noah holds Kurt by his waist, closing his eyes makes him dizzy.

"Braveheart? Princess where did that come from?" Noah asks in a soft confused voice.

"It's a movie with Mel Gibson. It's about William Wallace. He fought against England, when they invaded Scotland. They destroyed his family, his home and made him an outlaw when he sought justice. He fought for what he believed in, just like you do."

Noah stares at Kurt for minute before putting his arms through the sleeves of the tee shirt. It hurts like hell, but not as bad as trying to raise them above his head.

He wants to tell Kurt that he wasn't brave, that he screamed like a girl. That he was so terrified. That he begged them to leave him alone. That he cried every night while he was in that place. But he cant get the words out. It hurts too much. So he just stays quiet.

Kurt sees the emotions flash across Noah's face and eyes. There is terror, horror, and most of all an empty sadness that stays in his dark eyes.

"Um, Kurt, how are we gonna get my pants off?" Noah's voice is a soft question.

"You know Noah, I didn't think you would be the first guy I would try to get his pants off of. Not that you aren't the great Puckzilla, you're just not my type."

Kurt hopes he isn't crossing a line, but humor is better than being serious.

"Break my heart why don't you, Princess. I guess I will just have to try harder."

Noah enjoys the banter with Kurt. It makes everything seem almost normal.

Kurt places Noah's hands on his shoulders and tells him to stand still. He pull Noah's tee shirt down as far as it will go. He hopes it will hide the great Puckzilla from his view. It doesn't quite reach the desired spot.

"Noah, sit back down on the bed. I am going to get a towel to wrap around your waist so I don't have to meet Puckzilla."

Kurt is blushing all the way to his toes.

He does what Kurt wants and sits back down. He watches as Kurt goes into the bathroom and comes out with a bath towel.

"You know you're cute when you blush Kurt."

"Neanderthal."

"What happened to Braveheart?"

"Just stand up and lets get this over with."

"Princess is upset with Braveheart." Noah tries to pout, but cant hide the half sided smile.

"Princess is not upset with Braveheart!" Kurt groans in the realization that he is starting to sound like Noah.

"For the love of couture, you now have me talking in third person" Kurt grumbles at Noah.

"See I told you, trying harder does work", Noah winks at Kurt.

"Would you stop that. Everyone is waiting for us." Kurt helps Noah to stand up again.

Kurt wraps the towel around Noah's waist and starts pulling the scrub bottoms down.

Noah raises each leg when he feels the material hit his ankles. He watches Kurt reach up and grab the boxers. He feels the soft touch of Kurt's hand on the back of his calf motioning for him to lift his leg up.

Kurt pulls the boxers up Noah's legs and turns his head when he pulls them up over Noah's hips. He looks up at and sees Noah's head had dropped onto his chest.

"Do you need to take a break?"

Kurt guides Noah back to the edge of the bed to sit down.

"No. I was just thinking about this, what we are doing."

Kurt swallows the lump that is forming in his throat. He is almost afraid that Noah is going to punch him.

"A year ago I would have laughed if anyone had told me that Kurt Hummel would be helping me put my pants on. But now," Noah's voice hitches in his throat, "I just want you to know that I will never be able to repay…"

Noah's words are cut off by the sob that escapes his throat.

Kurt wraps his arms around him, holding him as close as possible to his chest. He doesn't say anything. He knows that Noah just needs to let go some of the pain that is deep inside.

He feels Noah's arms wrapping around his waist pulling him closer, until there is no space between their bodies. He gently rubs Noah's back in small circles.

After a few minutes Noah calms and Kurt finally speaks in a soft voice.

"Noah, the only payback I want is for you to get better. Its what we all want. Do you remember when we were in grade school and my mom died and I couldn't stop crying at school?"

Noah nods his head against Kurt's chest.

"That Thompson kid started to make fun of me and you punched him in the nose. You told him to leave me alone and not to ever bother me again."

Kurt can feel fresh tears on his shirt but he continues talking.

"The last few years of the bullying were hard, the way you treated me. I have never hated you though, not really. I would always see that little boy you used to be defending me on the playground and I could never hate him."

"And when you joined Glee, you started changing back to him. You stopped bullying me and the others. You have helped us, defended us, you are changing Noah. Just don't stop, that's the only payback I really need from you."

Noah looks up at Kurt with a tear stained face, "I am sorry Kurt. I wish I could take it all back, but I cant. Just, thanks you know."

Kurt smiles at Noah. He picks up the discarded towel and tenderly wipes Noah's face. He helps Noah finish dressing and walks to the door to let everyone know that he is ready to go.