A/N: Once more a great pleasure talking to you lovely people. It really is inspiring and such a wonderful confidence and motivation boost to get to hear a little about how this story makes you feel reading. Thank you reviewers, readers old and new. Hearing from you is the best part, next to writing for you and me!

Getting Away

34: The Void

"I want to go see Cooper."

It is the evening after the dinner at which Blaine had uttered those words and after the resulting phone-call to Cooper, made by Carole, that Blaine starts feeling really sick.

It has only been an hour since Carole had come to Blaine and Kurt's room and told them Cooper had agreed to a meeting the next morning – at Blaine's request – when the reality of it all hits Blaine.

Instead of falling asleep that night peacefully, for the first time since meeting his half-brother, for the first time since finding out he has one to begin with, Blaine is restless, more than before.

Kurt finds his room empty when he comes back from brushing his teeth.

He finds Blaine downstairs on the living room couch, legs drawn up, paper notebook resting on them crookedly, open, tightly pressed into a secure hold between his limbs as he sketches loosely onto the pages with a plain pencil, 'Blaine's favorite thing.'

There is light in the kitchen, but Kurt does not take too much notice of it, senses absorbed with the quiet sniffling filling the room, and the boy looking so much like …, '… like he had hiding away in that cabin in the woods.'

And then Carole is there, seemingly out of nowhere materializing, kneeling beside Blaine on the couch, pressing a kiss into the still sniffling boy's forehead, a hot steaming cup of something into his hands.

Blaine melts into the feel of her hand, warmed by the cup, softly holding one of his cheeks, the other gently running through Blaine's curls, once, twice.

"Thank you," Blaine whispers.

"It's your favorite," Carole hums, pressing another kiss to Blaine's forehead before standing back up. "I'm in the kitchen doing some reading if you need me."

Unnoticed by Blaine, already back to his drawing and warming his hands and tummy with the warm cup and its content, Carole passes Kurt as she walks back into the brightly lit room, taking him in her arms and with her – Kurt finds himself sitting at the kitchen table with Carole moments later, Carole's latest read resting beside her on the surface, both of them sipping the still almost boiling hot liquid, fresh from the pot, carefully.

"Sweety? Kurt?" she asks as Kurt remains silent for a heartbeat more.

It is a mere whisper, "Is he okay?"

"He's hurting," she says sadly, only her honesty reassuring to Kurt in all of this.

He knows where he is at with Carole and his Dad. 'It's really strange how comforting honesty can be.' "Shouldn't we take him to a doctor or … or the emergency room?" Kurt knows he can get a little overprotective when it comes to Blaine but … 'He needs to be safe,' in every way.

"Not that kind of hurt, Sweety" Carole answers, adding as she sees Kurt's frown of broken confusion, "Remember how when you were a little kid in school, and there … there is this, there was this subject you were okay taking because you found it interesting, but every time a teacher announced that there would be a test very soon, the closer that date got the bigger a stomach ache you would get, until the night before the test was to take place, you felt so sick all you could do was curl up on your bed, hold your tummy and cry until you fell asleep?"

Kurt nods, throat dry as he swallows hard, croaking out a, "Yeah. I do."

"I think, … I think Blaine is feeling like that right now. He came to me and said he had a bad stomach ache, so we went downstairs and I made him something hot to drink. Hopefully it will help him relax, a little at least."

"He came to you?" Kurt asks.

"Yeah, he did." Carole instantly reads Kurt's fallen expression right, and reaching out, taking one of Kurt's hands in hers, squeezing lovingly, says, "It's a good thing."

"That I'm jealous?" Kurt asks puzzled, still overwhelmed by his own emotions this has brought on.

"No, Sweety, that he feels comfortable to ask more people than you in our home for help. Kurt, I did not say anything before but …." Carole heaves a deep breath.

"But?"

Carole looks back up at her step-son, still holding his hand warmly, "But …, you know how people say that spreading love around is a good thing?" Kurt nods. "It's kind of similar with pain, although people don't seem to like to admit that all that much."

"What do you mean?"

"If we only share our love in life and for each other and don't talk to each other about pain and heartache and … and … nightmares," Kurt swallows hard, sniffles himself and averts his gaze from Carole as she goes on, "… then we miss big parts of who someone really is, of who we are. And for the person hurting, feeling misunderstood, and alone, so very alone and isolated even, … after a while you stop being able to breathe, and if you don't find someone who makes you smile again, yes, but also allows you to cry, after a while you … you just want to die, because you feel so alone and not at all like yourself and … and changed, and not for the better." Carole breaks off with a big huff of air, eyes glassy.

"You have felt that," Kurt softly says, sniffling even more now.

"After my first husband, Finn's father died …. I had no one to talk to. I know, maybe that makes me a terrible mom, but sometimes I just sat there talking to baby Finn, crying and …. It wasn't pretty ... or right."

"How did you get better?" Kurt asks genuinely curious.

"Time. And a self-help group for soldiers' wives. They even offered day-care while we had our sessions," Carole adds as an afterthought.

Kurt is hugging Carole warmly when he says, "I'm so happy you found someone to talk to. I wish we could do that for Blaine."

"Me too," Carole breathes sadly.

"I wish …, I wish there was … more. More I could do," Kurt whispers.

"Oh, Sweety, you are doing it all. Unless you want to try and force him into a therapy of sorts …," Carole says.

"No! No, I don't want … I don't think forcing someone into any such a thing would help anyone. Do you think I'm wrong?" Kurt asks shyly.

"I want him to feel ready, well, ready enough, stable enough to try taking that step whenever he wants, or maybe he doesn't, never will. Not everyone who needs to get well needs therapy for it. And it does not work for everyone either, … I think. It's just one possible way to deal society has build. I really think there are more ways to get better. Honestly, Kurt, I wish I knew more about how this whole therapy thing really might work for him. For instance, I can't see Blaine in a self-help group. Not at the moment at least."

"Would there be one for … for someone with his … pain?" Kurt asks.

"I don't know. But the way Blaine had to grow up, the way … the way he … his perspective on things must feel unique to him. Lonely. I think that is part of what makes him so sad, afraid. But learning that there are other children who have maybe experienced abuse quite similar to his, … I wonder if that would help Blaine at all, or just make him close up again more. I never found that argument helpful in any way, you know, the thing about 'There are other people out there who have it as bad or much worse than you.'"

"We should talk about that with Blaine some day," Kurt whispers.

"We really should, shouldn't we," Carole replies. "First things first though. We are meeting Cooper in the city park tomorrow morning. For a walk, and so Blaine can learn some more about him, and he about Blaine, as much as Blaine wants to share. If Cooper starts pushing him for information, or makes him uncomfortable in any way we will be right out of there."

"I'm terrified he will hurt Blaine," Kurt admits, tears flowing over with the next breath he takes.

A/N: I know Blaine is missed, not being present so strongly in these last chapters. He will be back in the next chapters featuring much more prominently. I'm hoping you are looking forward to them as much as I am after writing this.