There were legs under the SUV in the driveway. That was the first thing Sam registered as he pulled up to the Hummel house. He turned off the ignition and stared at them. They were clad in baggy, dirty jeans and heavy work boots, he could tell. Must be Mr. Hummel, remembering what Kurt had told him about his dad's business.

Shutting the door to his truck, he made it to the slightly elevated SUV. Kurt's SUV, he noted. "Uh, Mr. Hummel?"

There was a bang and a decidedly different voice muttering "shit" before the person on the creeper rolled out from under the car. Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "Kurt?"

"Hi." The brunette rubbed at his unusually messy hair, soothing the spot where Sam assumed he had hit.

"What were you doing under there?"

"Accessorizing the undercarriage." He deadpanned. "The brake line was leaking. I had to replace it."

"You, doing car repair?"

"I told you, Sam, I'm full of surprises." He stood up unsteadily and looked down, groaning. "I look disgusting."

Sam privately had to disagree. In his tight dirty white t-shirt smeared with what Sam figured to be brake fluid and his scruffy hair reminiscent of its state during Empire State of Mind, he didn't look disgusting in the slightest. He looked rather hot actually. In fact, it took more willpower than Sam wanted to admit to keep from tackling the countertenor and kissing the air out of him.

Kurt grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. "Here, just wait in the living room while I change."

Sam stood self consciously in the center of the living room. What was he supposed to do? He moved to the mantle place, analyzing the pictures sitting there. He laughed softly at a picture of a younger Kurt giving the camera a fierce "bitch please" face. He hadn't changed at all.

"Sam Evans."

The voice caught him by surprise and his elbow caught the edge of the mantle place. He pasted on a smile to greet the owner. Ow.

"You okay?" Burt asked concerned.

"Fine."

"You hit your elbow pretty good."

"I'm fine. Really."

The older man strode to Sam and stuck out his hand. "Kurt told me what you did for him. Thank you."

He shook the hand, elbow throbbing slightly. "It was nothing."

"No, it definitely was something." He sat down on the couch and gestured that Sam do the same. He did. "I'm sure you've noticed by now that Kurt's stubborn. Extremely strong, but stubborn. He's convinced himself that he's not going to let this bullying bother anyone else, so he doesn't tell me about it. Whatever's going on is really getting to him as much as he doesn't want me to know that.

He shook his head. "He should defend himself, but he won't. 'It's my hill to climb,' he tells me. I don't want him to climb that hill alone. So when you beat up that kid Karofsky because he was picking on him, that meant a lot to me, Sam. I know he's not happy you stepped in, but I am."

Sam was speechless. "I- I don't know what to say, Mr. Hummel. I mean, I just did the right thing."

"Yeah, but a lot of people wouldn't have. They would have been afraid of what would have happened to them afterwards. They would have worried that they would have been picked on next."

"It would have been worth it." The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. He stared at Burt, wide eyed. "I mean-"

"Sam, are you in-"

"Dad!" Perfect timing, Kurt. "Are you scaring Sam?" The younger boy sauntered over to an armchair next to the couch and sat down neatly, now garbed in a navy blue sweater and tight white slacks, not a hair out of place.

"Of course not." He gave Sam a side eye, assessing him carefully. Sam didn't really care to know why.

"Okay, well, the turkey is almost done. I'm going to see if Carole needs any help." Kurt left them for the kitchen. Sam wished that he hadn't.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Burt asked softly, eyes darting to the door swinging closed that Kurt had disappeared through.

"I-" What could he say to that? "Mr. Hummel, I-"

"We're ready!" Kurt announced, sticking his head through the door, face aglow.

Sam shot up from the couch, thankful for the distraction. What could he have said? Burt followed closely behind him.

"Sam, you sit here." Kurt pointed to the seat next to where Burt had sat down.

"You sure?" This might be awkward.

"He won't bite you!" Kurt admonished before returning to help Carole.

"For the record, I like you better than that Blair kid." Burt muttered. Sam blushed slightly. Did everyone get it but Kurt?

Carole entered the room carrying a delicious looking browned turkey, Kurt and Finn both following with side dishes. "Looks delicious, Mrs. H."

She beamed. "Thank you, Sam! We're so glad that you're joining us."

"Me too." He couldn't remember the last time he and his parents had sat down for dinner, just the three of them. This was another world.

The rest of the family settled into their chairs, Finn beside Sam and Kurt and Carole across from them. "Why don't we go around the table and say what we're thankful for? Sam, why don't you start?"

He stared at his lap, searching for a decent response. "I'm thankful that I've made such great friends here in Lima." That wasn't bad, was it?

"And we're thankful we found you too, Sam." He looked up directly into Kurt's eyes. What he was truly thankful for was moving to Lima and being able to know him. Why couldn't he just tell Kurt that?