Chapter Twenty One

"Okay, so, cheers to the magical hobbit, the elf boy, and the striped king," Santana said, raising a glass. "This is about happiness. If I see any angst, I will cut you with my razor hair."

Kurt laughed. "Whatever you say, Satan. We all know you're just a big softie."

Santana shrugged. "Okay, so whose puny ass do I need to hang by their toenails?" she quipped, her way of wanting deets on all the drama.

"Adam is already in jail, good luck trying to get to him," Elliott said. "And they're still searching for Sebastian. If you can find him, by all means, take him down."

She waved a hand off. "I don't need to deal with Deport Dandy. With any luck they'll accidentally drop him in the ocean on the way back over. As for the royal slimeball, well, I'm ready to crack both his nuts."

Raja rolled over at Kurt's feet under the table, and Kurt scratched under his chin, selecting a large meatball to feed him. Marley said to keep the feline on mostly soft foods for another day. "I kind of hope someone finds him before the cops do and beat the crap out of him before they turn him over."

Santana tossed her hair and glanced over at Kurt, her eyes narrowed. "Beating the crap out of him would be lucky, considering what I would do if I knew I wouldn't get arrested for it."

Kurt smiled gratefully at her, even as Blaine took his hand under the table.

Wes was shaking his head. "You guys, I know you are really angry, but you need to let the police do their job for now. Sebastian will get what is coming to him, I promise."

The Latina shook her head at him. "Sometimes, Major Gavel, I think you live too much by the law. Why are you a manager and not a judge?" She turned to Sam then. "And hey, Trouty Mouth, looks like there's a fish on this menu larger than your lips."

The blonde man looked around, confused. "I think she's talking to you," Quinn leaned over and stage whispered in his ear. Sam blushed a little as her breath tickled his ear.

"Oh, um. Thanks?" he said, not sure what to think of the dark haired woman's comment.

Santana smirked. "Something you wanna share with the class there, baby mama?"

Quinn just rolled her eyes. "Nothing earth shattering, Sandbags. I was just pointing out to Sam that you really must like him to give him a nickname so fast."

"And I was commenting on the fact that you looked pretty cozy with our new friend."

Sam's blush deepened, but Quinn just shrugged. "Sam's a nice guy. He's been a great help the last few weeks, and he has proven his loyalty to Blaine and the cast. Just because your mind is always in the gutter, doesn't mean everyone else's is."

Santana continued to smirk at the two of them. "Whatever baby mama. So, Trouty Mouth, is the magical hobbit and his ragtag crew treating you right, then?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so. Blaine just promoted me, and gave me plane tickets and V.I.P. passes for my family for the show in Vegas. And Kurt and the others have always been nice to me. About the only ones who weren't were Adam and Sebastian, but they're both gone now."

"Yeah well, Deport Dandy and Royal Slimeball are lower than shoe scum, so they aren't important anyway."

"Can I ask you something?" Sam asked. "Kurt said you only give people nicknames if you like them, but you seem to give everyone nicknames. So, how do we know if you're being mean, or if you really do like someone?"

She looked at him for a long moment. "Because I'll actually use your real name if I'm being serious. Those two idiots aren't even worth remembering their names."

Sam considered her answer, and after a moment, nodded in understanding. "Well, Latin Spice, it was great meeting you. It's been a real eye opener, for certain. Thanks for dinner, Blaine, but I need to get back to the Staples Center for stage check."

Blaine looked over at him with a small smile. "I'm sorry you have to leave early Sam. You're officially a part of this particular group now. So you're welcome anytime."

The blonde man smiled. "Thanks, bro. You've all been so nice to me. You guys didn't have to include this awkward kid from Tennessee in your circle, but you did. Thanks, all of you."

Kurt smiled at him. "Well, you didn't have to work twice as hard as everyone else on the crew, but you did, and you've been a steadying force among the rest of the crew when Adam bullied them and made them feel worthless."

"Not to mention, you put up with all us crazies for months," Tina chimed in. "And you never once said an unkind word to any of us."

"I think you are one of the people that's been the glue that kept things held together, even when most of us flew off the deep end," Rachel commented.

"You've made this new kid feel very welcome," Mike added.

Kurt patted Raja's head. "Raja liked you from the very beginning. It usually takes him a while to warm up to new people, but he let you scratch his ears the first time he saw you."

Sam looked on the verge of tears as everyone spoke. He'd never felt so at home with a group of people who weren't his family before. "Thanks, everyone. I'll see you in an hour for the show."

…

"So, cousin mine," Elliott said later, between illusions. "You're crushing on Sam."

Quinn frowned as she pulled her hair back into a high pony for her next trick. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Elliott raised an eyebrow. "You can't lie to me, cousin. If you don't want me saying anything, I won't, but you know you can talk to me."

Quinn sighed. "There really isn't anything to talk about. Sam is sweet, and a little shy, and probably not even interested in me."

Elliott jerked his head back in her direction at those last words. "Whatever could make you think he wouldn't be interested in you? Quinn, you are gorgeous, and I don't just mean on the outside. People who don't know you might think you're an ice queen, but those of us close to you, we can see your true heart. Don't ever put yourself down like that again, do you understand me?"

Quinn let out a little snort. "Says the guy who has given up on finding true love of his own. As for Sam, I just mean he hasn't really said anything or done anything to make me think he might have any kind of feelings for me."

"Three things. First, you haven't really had a chance to actually spend time with him outside of the few minutes backstage, which you should now, as he's in the circle. Two, Sam strikes me as one of those gentlemanly types, who cares about letting the girl be their own person and if he was going to ask you out, he'd do it the right way. And three, we aren't talking about me here, now are we?"

Quinn didn't have time to think about Elliott's words just then, as the cue came for her entrance. He watched her walk away, even as someone else moved up behind him.

"She's got a point, you know," Kurt said. "Just because that last guy broke your heart pretty badly, doesn't mean you should give up on finding love."

He looked over at Kurt and gave his head a short shake. "Who said I gave up? Good things come to those who wait. In other words, I'm done doing the searching. I'm always the one searching. Let the guy find me for once."

Kurt smiled at him. "Maybe you'll meet in the middle."

…

Blaine came out from backstage, dressed strangely in a hoodie and sweatpants, but only to cover up his costume for the next illusion. He was also barefoot. He beamed at the audience and clapped his hands together. "Alright, before we get started on our next big thing, I am looking for a volunteer who is not afraid of getting wet."

Several people raised their hands, including a grandmotherly looking woman in the center section.

Blaine's eyes immediately fell on the grandmotherly woman and he smiled at her. "Really? You wouldn't mind getting wet? How very bold of you ma'am. What's your name?"

"Agatha," she said, beaming at him. She looked to be in her late seventies, but also seemed very athletic.

"Big round of applause for Agatha, everybody!" Blaine said, and the audience cheered and applauded. "Agatha, if you'll just follow Quinn and Tina backstage, they're going to help you get ready so that you don't have to worry about leaving here in wet clothes."

She laughed and followed the two younger women. "I'm actually a big fan of both of you," she said. "When I was younger, I was in your shoes. It's not as easy as you two make it look."

Quinn and Tina both smiled at her. "Well, no wonder you were so eager," Quinn said as Tina pulled out a wetsuit.

"There's a dressing room just over there you can use. This way, your actual clothes will stay dry," Tina said, smiling at her.

Agatha took the suit and stepped into the changing room. It took her about ninety seconds to get changed. "I'm glad I let my grandson talk me into taking those surfing lessons last month," she said as she came back out.

Tina and Quinn shared a smile, before Quinn looked at her with a nod. "I think you are the most prepared volunteer we've ever had for this illusion," she said. "Come on, we'll take you back to the stage."

Blaine had retreated behind the curtain and when it rose a few moments later, he was standing on a platform overlooking a giant tank full of water. He was also wearing a wetsuit. He looked towards backstage. "Agatha, whenever you're ready, I'd like you to join me up here if you will."

She climbed the stairs and joined him. "This should be fun," she murmured softly.

The magician grinned at her. "Looking good, Agatha!" he said. "Now, you have the most important job in this whole illusion. You're going to be my hands-on spectator. When you're ready, go ahead and get into the tank. Your job is to keep moving around to verify that it is indeed a tank full of water and there's nothing you can't see blocking your way across in any way."

She nodded, and slipped into the tank. She swam around the top of the tank first, and then swam down and made a loop around the bottom, before resurfacing. "I didn't see or feel anything."

"Excellent," Blaine smiled at her. "You're really great at this." He looked back up at the audience. "Okay, now, I want to make it very clear that although what I am about to do will look cool, kids, don't try this at home."

There were a lot of murmurs from the audience, and some applause.

"I am going to ask for total silence and lighting crew, can I have the lights dimmed, please?"

Artie gave the signal to the lighting crew, and the lights cut by half, except one light from the back of the stage.

Blaine reached up his hand. "Cue dramatic music!" He snapped his fingers and the drama started to build in sound. "Alright, I'm ready. Agatha, are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Audience, are you ready?!"

"Yes!" they shouted.

"Keep in mind that Agatha has confirmed you can freely swim across this tank," Blaine said. He cracked his neck and shook his shoulders out before slowly lifting his foot off the platform and lowering it down to the top of the water.

It had taken Blaine some time to figure out how to bring this illusion down to a stage scale, after seeing Criss Angel do it in pools and lakes, but it was admittedly one of his favorites to do.

He stood still for a moment, one foot resting on the top of the water. He drew a couple of deep breaths, sticking his arms out to his sides just a bit. After a moment, he lifted his other foot and slowly lowered it down to the top of the water, his balance wavering just slightly, but he held steady and now he was standing on the surface of the water.

There were cries of amazement from the audience, and Agatha beamed up at him.

Blaine kept himself steady and took a few steps forward, slowly placing one foot in front of the other until he was a bit out from the platform. "Alright Agatha, here is where you come in again. I'm going to ask you to swim underneath me," he said.

She smiled, and dove under the water and swam back and forth directly beneath him twice.

Blaine grinned down at her, clapping his hands. "Give her another round of applause ladies and gentlemen!"

She waved and blew a kiss to someone in the audience.

The magician took another few careful steps forward until he was standing in the center of the tank. "Now Agatha, you might notice there is a curtain hanging from the side of the tank. Would you be a dear and bring it to me please?"

She glanced over to the side, and spotted the curtain. She carefully handed it up to him.

"Thank you," Blaine smiled down at her. He took the curtain and shook it so it unraveled in front of him. "I think it's time for me to take a dip of my own," he said, before he threw up the curtain and it fell, sweeping him away and landing on the surface of the water where he'd just been standing.

The audience screamed and applauded, as Quinn came over to the tank to help Agatha climb out.

Applause rang out loud from the back of the audience and nearby people turned to find Blaine standing in the aisle, dripping wet, and applauding. As the rest of the crowd realized what had happened, they stood and cheered even louder. On stage, Agatha squeezed Quinn's hand. "He reminds me so much of my father. Papa would be so proud of what Blaine has done with his trick."

Quinn looked confused. "Papa?"

"Oh, yes, my father was quite famous in his day. But people always seem to forget that he invented that trick. That was how I met my husband. He was a magician, too. Papa consulted him about it."

Quinn grinned, and hugged her. "You're amazing. I hope when I am your age, I am still helping to make magic in people's lives."

Blaine jogged back up the aisle and back to the stage, where he stood to take a bow, still dripping wet. "I hope you all enjoyed that trick. Best tribute work I've ever done, I think. Hang tight because we still have a bit left to show you!" He winked and made his way offstage where Kurt was ready with a towel.

Kurt smirked as he tossed the towel over Blaine's head. "Always have to show off, don't you?"

Blaine pulled the towel down, smiling sweetly at Kurt. "You know you love it." He leaned in a little closer. "Especially when I give you private shows."

"Blaine?" Quinn said from behind them. "Agatha wanted to thank you in person."

Blaine smiled and pecked Kurt on the cheek. "I'll see you shortly, yeah?" he said, moving to follow Quinn.

The older woman smiled as she came out of the dressing room, once again dressed in her regular clothes. "I just wanted to thank you for indulging an old woman's longing to relive the past, and tell you how much my father would have loved to see you performing that illusion."

"Your father?" Blaine asked.

She smiled wider. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Agatha Hardeen Galloway."

The color drained from Blaine's face. "Hardeen? As in Theodore Hardeen? Younger brother of Harry Houdini?"

Agatha beamed at him again. "The very same. Very few people know that Papa actually invented that trick, ninety years ago, today, on my ninth birthday."

"You're ninety-nine?" Blaine asked. "I thought you were younger!"

Agatha laughed. "Thank you, that is quite the compliment. Now, I know you must rush off and get ready for your next trick. I just wanted to let you know you are doing an amazing job! My father and uncle would both be very proud of you!"

"That really means a lot," Blaine said with a nod. "Who would have thought that my luck would bring us together, huh?" He smiled at her.

She laughed, and kissed his cheek, and then pointed out a young man in the audience to him. "That's my youngest great grandson. He wants to be a magician. He's a huge fan of yours."

"Oh!" Blaine said. He quickly grabbed one of the gift bags they handed to volunteers and pulled the T-shirt out of it, grabbing a sharpie off the table. He signed the T-shirt and stuck it back in the bag. "Here, you can take an extra gift bag for him then. And let him know if he wants to be a magician, the magic will make it happen."

She hugged him again, and finally made her way back to her seat. Blaine could see the young man hugging the older woman tightly.

Kurt moved over to stand beside him again, already prepared for the next illusion. "She was one extraordinary woman," he said.

Blaine smiled at him, and wrapped an arm around his waist. "I feel validated for all my hard work now. And she is most definitely an extraordinary woman."

…

TheEllenShow: Guys, if you weren't at the Staples Center tonight, you missed one incredible show! BBlackwell was amazing tonight!

grlnxtdr29: Is it six AM yet? I'll be camping by my computer to be the first one to buy tickets for the added show in Vegas!

WildeKitty: Looking forward to Wednesday night's show. It's going to be awesome, Mercedes Jones AND Blaine Blackwell, on one stage!

yadivagirl: I know Raja isn't up to performing yet, but it was nice to see Kurt with him in those pictures Starchild posted. Raja looked so happy! Now, I heard a rumor through the animal rescue blogs, and I wonder if it's true?

IheartBlaine: Hubby and I are in Aruba now, just got here after delaying our honeymoon a couple of days to make sure Raja was okay. It's beautiful here, and now that I know Raja is going to be okay, I can actually enjoy it!

lucy8675309: That older woman near the end of the show, was that who I think it was? I'm sure I recognize her!

KingRaja: Mnrung hruff, mreow. Ngra (Translation; I miss being in the show, but I could hear all the cheering, and that made me happy. Thank you all!)

Starchild: Happy to have my best friend back on stage tonight! Welcome back GlaszandPorcelain

BlackbirdTears: There were two legends on stage tonight! Amazing the way the universe plays tricks on us!

BBlackwell: I was blessed to meet an amazing woman tonight! I hope when I am ninety-nine, I look that great!

GlaszandPorcelain: yadivagirl, MAYBE!

ItsANewDay (Formerly IShipBlina): So, I think I might be going to Vegas for the Friday night show! My cousin has an extra ticket, and she invited me to go with her!

klainedreams34: That's great, ItsANewDay (Formerly IShipBlina)! Maybe we can meet up after the show!

Private Message: From BBlackwell

To WeareTHENiff

Guys, I need your help with something. I'm sending you V.I.P. passes to the Saturday night shows in Vegas. I'll explain when the time is right.

Private Message: From WeareTHENiff

To BBlackwell

All you had to do was ask, and you know we'll be there.

…

Quinn was just finishing packing up her bag to head back to the hotel to join Santana and the others for a night cap, when there was a soft knocking on her dressing room door. She opened it without thinking, expecting to find Elliott or Kurt standing there. Instead, Sam smiled shyly at her. He held out a small bouquet of white daisies and carnations.

"These are for you. They're no big deal, it's just, when I saw the lady selling them outside at intermission, they made me think of you for some reason."

Quinn looked at him with surprise and reached out to take the flowers from him. "Oh, um, thank you. You didn't have to do that," she said, smiling at him. "They're beautiful though."

Sam blushed. "Not as beautiful as you."

She looked at him for a moment, a bit astounded by his words. Hadn't she and Elliott just been talking about this before the show? "Thank you, Sam," she said gently, a small soft smile crossing her face.

"So, I know you have plans tonight, but I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out for a late dinner tomorrow night, after the show?"

Quinn really had meant it when she'd told Elliott she didn't think Sam was interested, but apparently, Elliott had been right, which her cousin usually was. "Sam, I would love to have dinner with you tomorrow," she said. If he really was into her, well, she wasn't going to pass up the chance.

He smiled shyly. "I didn't think you'd say yes. I thought you would think I wasn't good enough for you."

She was stunned by that. "Sam, you are literally one of the sweetest people on this crew. You put up with everyone and still remain happy and friendly. You're a good guy." She bit her lip. "But I thought you weren't interested in me."

Sam looked surprised. "Why would you think that? You're smart, and pretty, and kind, and you've never been mean or rude to me. And the other day when you were wearing that butterfly costume, you took my breath away." He stopped talking for a moment, frowning. "That didn't come out the way I meant. I mean the way you moved through that illusion was incredible! I've never seen anyone move that gracefully. Except maybe Kurt, but he's a guy. And I should just stop talking now and go before you change your mind."

Quinn couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up at his words. "You're awfully cute when you get flustered," she said. She gave her head a short shake. "Honestly, I wasn't always as kind as I am now. You can ask Blaine and Santana. I was kind of a Queen Bee in high school," she admitted.

"I find that hard to believe. What happened to change that?"

"Well, I was head cheerleader and I came from a prominent family and well, life comes at you in pretty big ways sometimes. I think high school is the time when we do most of our growing up. I'd mellowed out a lot by the time I graduated. Probably because my dad turned out to be the biggest liar ever. He was cheating on my mom with some tattooed lady."

Sam made a sympathetic face. "That's rough."

"I also got pregnant when I was a sophomore. Becoming a parent makes you grow up really fast when you're a teen mom."

Sam had known Quinn had a child, he'd seen pictures of the girl even before the confrontation with Adam the other day in the security office. He'd been curious about her, but hadn't felt it his place to pry. "She's really pretty. Your daughter. Her name is Beth, isn't it?"

Quinn smiled at him. "It is," she confirmed. "And even though I had a hard time when she was born, there is absolutely nothing I wouldn't do for her now. There was a time when she got really sick and I was worried about leaving Blaine hanging, but he told me not to worry so much and it was more important to him that I took care of Beth and let me leave the tour to go be with her. That was about a year ago."

Sam bit his lip, knowing he might blow it with his next question. "Blaine isn't her father, is he?"

She looked at him for a moment. "No, Blaine isn't her father. Yes, we did date, but at the time Blaine hadn't really come to terms with himself fully. We never did even make it to second base. The guy who got me pregnant got me drunk first."

Sam frowned. "That's a dick move. He sounds like a jerk."

She snorted. "He was kind of the school badass and I guess he might have been the reason Blaine and I officially broke things off."

"It wasn't because Blaine is gay?"

"Things had been kind of awkward. The real reason Blaine and I broke up was because he was in that stage where he was officially working himself out and he was terrified of his parents finding out, so I agreed to be his beard. But when badass got me drunk and then got me pregnant, we kind of finally decided that it really wasn't working. A lot of people had trouble actually believing we were dating in the first place."

Sam would have asked her something else, but her phone chirped an incoming text message. "It's Santana, wondering where I am," she said. She looked back up at him. "Do you want to join us? You know you're always welcome."

"You guys really don't think I'd be intruding?"

"Of course not! Blaine likes hanging around with people, and so do the rest of us. The more the merrier is our motto. Well, it used to be, but I think we should bring it back. Come on. You deserve to relax just as much as the rest of us."

"I don't think I've ever felt more welcome at a job before," Sam said.

Quinn smiled at him, and grabbed her bag as they headed out the door. She carried the bouquet of flowers as she walked next to the stagehand. "Blaine likes to make people happy, and with most of the crew he's very friendly. Adam and Sebastian didn't exactly make it easy for him, but I'd rather not talk about them right now."

Sam shrugged. "So, you and Blaine grew up together, didn't you?"

She nodded. "Our parents were good friends, until my dad turned out to be such a jerk. Blaine's parents were very nice to me during my pregnancy."

"You got pregnant after Blaine started doing magic shows, right?"

"Yeah. He was fourteen when he started doing shows. I didn't get pregnant until I was sixteen."

Sam frowned a little. "So, why didn't Blaine use you as his assistant when he first started? Why did he place an ad for an assistant?"

Quinn let out a sigh as they reached the hotel lobby. "My dad was really strict. He wouldn't let me. He said the costumes were too provocative."

Sam frowned even more. "I'm sure at that age, Blaine wouldn't have been expecting you to dress provocatively."

Quinn laughed. "The costume was a pair of black hot pants and a tuxedo shirt with the sleeves missing. Not really risque, but enough for my dad to say no. I have to admit, though, Tina did look good in the outfit. It suited her body type better than mine. And she was a quick learner, they only had to rehearse for that first show twice before she had everything down pat."

"Your father thought that was provocative? Let me get this straight, he found that provocative but was cheating on your mom with a tattooed woman?"

Quinn shook her head. "I really don't know what was going on with him. He didn't have any problems with my cheerleading outfit, and that was more revealing. I think he really just didn't like the idea of me doing something so mundane as being a magician's assistant, and needed an excuse."

Sam was quiet for a moment. "So then, why did you finally become one of Blaine's assistants?"

She giggled. "Elliott blackmailed me into it."

"Wait, what?"

She laughed harder. "You know he was the one who introduced Kurt to Blaine, right? Well, The night they met, I wasn't feeling good, and I ended up throwing up, but I didn't want them to know it was me, so I blamed Raja. Elliott knew I was lying, and so when Blaine said he needed a couple more assistants, Elliott blackmailed me by threatening to tell Kurt I was the one who threw up."

"That's...that's...I don't know if there's a word to describe that. Do they seriously still think it was Raja?"

Quinn continued to giggle. "I have no idea. I think Kurt knew I was lying at the time, but he's too much of a gentleman to say anything." They arrived at the hotel lounge, where they were greeted by Mike, who was also just arriving.

"Hey, Sam. Glad you can join us."

"Hey, Mike. It's nice that everyone wants to include me."

"Oh please," Tina said, coming over to drag them all to the table and overhearing him. "Why do you find it so hard to believe? Okay, don't answer that. You're so used to seeing all the crazy, you aren't used to the real us yet."

"I guess I have a lot to learn still," Sam chuckled.

"Come on, Trouty Mouth, loosen up and have some fun!" Santana said.

Elliott smiled at his cousin, spotting the bouquet of flowers. "Still think he's not interested?" he whispered.

Quinn rolled her eyes at him. "Shut up, Elliott."

Kurt and Blaine brought over a bottle of tequila and a bunch of shot glasses from the bar. "Okay, let's drink a toast to a drama free performance!" Kurt said, passing out the shots.

Santana snorted. "Oh please, Porcelain! No one can just drink the shot. Where's the fun in that? Who's up for a little down and dirty drinking fun?"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Not tonight, Santana. We don't need everyone with hangovers tomorrow."

"Okay fine, Grandpa Hobbit is out! Anyone else not interested?"

The others just shook their heads. "Blaine's right," Quinn said. "Tonight isn't the night for that. But there is a free day before we get back to Columbus in two weeks."

Santana frowned. "I'm not going to be with you then. You know I can only chill right now while you guys are here. With everything at the studio, I can't leave LA right now."

"I thought you were coming to the Saturday show in Vegas?" Kurt asked.

She let out a sigh. "I'm trying to get clearance for that. A week ago, it would have been all okie dory. But now everyone is running around like chickens with their heads cut off and we're backed up. I don't know if they'll let me go."

Kurt was about to respond when suddenly, his phone rang. "Hold that thought," he said, holding up a finger. Normally, Kurt would always check the ID first, but his intent was just to tell whomever it was to call back later, so he didn't bother looking at it. "Hey, listen, I can't-"

"Listen very carefully," came a voice that was obviously distorted, interrupting him. "Quit the show and disappear or there will be consequences. I'm not going to warn you again. You have forty-eight hours to follow my instructions. If you don't, you will be sorry." There was a click as whomever it was hung up.

Kurt pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at it with wide eyes, and his face went suddenly pale.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, voice concerned. He'd seen the other man's whole demeanor change.

The taller man looked up at Blaine, expression fearful and eyes glistening on the brink of tears. Blaine wasn't the only one to notice by now. Some of the others were looking concerned.

Santana stood and reached out to grab Kurt's phone, checking the caller ID, but finding an unlisted number.

"Kurt," Quinn said, pulling him into a hug. "Who was it? What did they say?"

Kurt swallowed heavily, and when he spoke, his voice was choked up. "I don't know who it was. They disguised their voice, but they told me I had forty-eight hours to quit the show and disappear or I'll be sorry."

Blaine's eyes went dark with rage. "You aren't going anywhere. You're staying right where you belong!" He waved to Spencer and Alistair, who had been hanging out near the bar, giving the group some privacy. "Get Beiste, now. He needs to trace the last call to Kurt's phone." As he spoke he was dialing Wes.

Kurt was usually very good at hiding when something was bothering him, of letting this kind of thing roll right off his back, but he could only take so much, and now that whomever was threatening him had stepped up to calling him, it felt like it had gotten ten times worse. "Blaine," he said in an uncharacteristically small voice. "I'm scared."

Blaine just wanted to scoop him up and carry him back to their room, but the lounge was pretty full of people, and it would completely blow their secret wide open. "Elliott, can you take Kurt back to the room? I don't want him or Raja left alone for even a second."

Elliott nodded and moved to wrap a comforting arm around his friend, and Raja stuck close to the auburn haired assistant as Elliott started to lead them both out. He glanced over his shoulder and said in a voice only Blaine could hear. "You better be along shortly. I have a feeling Kurt will feel much safer if you were by his side."

Blaine barely gave a nod, and then paused. "Leave Kurt's phone here. If they call back, I have a message for them."

"Right," Elliott said. "Santana still has it, I think."

"It's here, Hobbit," she said, holding it out to him. This time when she used the nickname, you could hear the concern in her voice.

Blaine took the phone from her with a nod of thanks. "I think for safety reasons, we might want to look into getting Kurt a new number." The fact that the caller knew Kurt's number only served to increase Blaine's belief that it had to be someone who knew them personally, which more than confirmed his suspicions it was Sebastian.