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Chapter 7
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AN: Nkys, I think you missed a chapter. :D The last chapter answers a question you had.
Thanks Lucandy and Luna Melody Moonstone, Rakusa and Nkys, I always appreciate your reviews!
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The later stay meant that more people had the opportunity to pick Kurt up after school. So when Carole was the one to pick him up for the rest of the week, Blaine couldn't help but ask. "You can drive, why don't they let you have your own car?"
"Nav's mine." Kurt answered with a grin. Carole greeted the group of boys warmly and with a bright smile. She gave Kurt a hug when he came down to join her and dropped the keys into his hands. They both waved as they took off.
Then another day, Thad was the one asking more questions about his arrangement. "You drive to school and back, it would save everyone so much time not to have to bring it and you then the car again. Why can't you just drive yourself both ways without a chaperone?" Thad started joining them and his words had everyone turning to look at him in shock and then glares.
"Chaperone?" Kurt repeated the word, his confusion clear.
"Well, they don't let you stay and have to be the ones with you back and forth to school and home. Do you ever get a chance to be alone?" Thad didn't either read the room or was blatantly ignoring them.
"Thad?" Nick dragged his attention to him. "Shut up."
But it was too late, Kurt was getting defensive. As he spoke more, they realized that Kurt had claws and teeth and when he chose to bite, it hurt. "Privacy? You can't have living here."
Thad smirked. "We have ways around that, don't we Sebastian?"
"Don't drag me into this." Sebastian bit back.
"Why not? You've never had a problem dragging the rest of us into it. If Kurt ever does spend the night here, he might as well learn tips from the master. Especially if he wants to sneak off with his boyfriend since he'll no longer have the ability to come and go like he had up until then."
Burt pulled up just then and he got out of the vehicle, instantly spotting the unease that went through the group. "Hey bud, ready?" He wanted to reach in and extract his son from the tension, fearing that Kurt would get into the middle of it and be injured. The number of boys always seemed to grow whenever he showed up.
He was glad his son had friends, and that he was surrounded by them for good reasons. He always got nervous whenever he lost sight of Kurt in a crowd. In the center of so many boys... just made him a bit anxious and didn't know how Kurt did it.
If Kurt was comfortable, he would force himself to be as well. He didn't just yank him out. A few months ago, and he would have. He wouldn't have cared what the therapist said or what Kurt wanted. His desire to protect Kurt from perceived harm would have overridden any rational thought.
They'd worn him down just as much as he was sure they'd worked at Kurt's defenses by just being there consistently and being nice. It was far more than Kurt had ever gotten at his own school, even with his 'friends'.
Burt hadn't been sure when Kurt asked to stick around longer after class for Glee practice. He knew Kurt wouldn't be able to sing and he knew Kurt wouldn't set his progress by trying to force it. He hoped it wouldn't be too much for him though, physically or emotionally.
They'd talked about it quite a bit, mostly Burt talked and Kurt listened and presented a valid argument written out and Burt had read it in full. It came down to them being at the kitchen table and Burt leaning down against it on his hands and looking at Kurt's face carefully as he asked. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." The answer rang clear and true and Burt had nothing more to say about it afterward. Finn hadn't figured it out and kept asking questions. Kurt had eventually scrunched up a piece of paper and threw it at his head. "Stop." Was all Kurt said in response to Finn's question about Glee and Kurt's participation.
On the drive home that day, Burt waited until they were on the highway before asking how the day went.
Kurt's eyes shot over to him with a sparkle in them that Burt hadn't seen for awhile. "I said eleven complete and complex sentences, including this one." His words were slow and measured but he got them all out without too much of a struggle and it didn't sound painful either. He stopped dropping words or sounds too, even unintentionally.
"Good job, son." They both had pride for Kurt's accomplishment and then Kurt's nose wrinkled up, he hated where they had to go next. "It's just a check up."
"Disgusting." On the road to recovery he'd had to gulp down a lot of really vile drinks. He hated the tube wrapped in plastic and lubrication down his throat the worst. If felt like such an invasion and the first few times they'd had to hold him down which had only made it worse. Kurt had never been overly fond of going to the dentist, his teeth were so small and prone to problems anyway. This was in a lot of ways so much worse. He was always careful what he put in his mouth and he'd become even more so. He wouldn't have chosen to have any of it if he'd been given the opportunity to say no, if it'd been his to say no to.
"I know Kid, I know." Burt sighed and looked out the side window for a moment. He was still facing the side of the road when he spoke. "I can't even make it better by offering you an ice cream afterward."
"You can offer." Kurt said slowly. "I might say yes, one day."
Burt turned his head to look at his son curiously but Kurt didn't look back at him.
That day ended up being the day that Kurt took him up on it. The doctors declared that unless something happened and they were concerned about his throat, he wouldn't have to go through this anymore. The throat was healing nicely and shouldn't be so painful or such a struggle in the relatively near future. The worst of it was over and he was out of the woods.
"Singing?" Kurt asked, his voice even more scratchy than before but only because he just had something down it. It was irritated but not painful. It was the first time he'd asked. Their initial concerns had been his survival that night and then secondary infection and then whether or not he'd be fed or talking through a tube for the rest of his life.
All those hurdles had been surpassed and he'd moved onto the next one in front of him. He was saying full sentences and it was slow going but maybe soon he could actually have a legitimate conversation.
"It might be easier than talking or it could be more difficult." The doctor wasn't great at giving specifics and hopeful outlooks. "It'll never be what it was." Burt had confided in the doctor that it was something Kurt would bring up eventually. It had been such a part of his life and for now he'd been repressing it because there wasn't a point to bring up that pain too. They'd all wondered if he'd accepted that singing wasn't going to be in his future career path anymore. "With some vocal training, you may be able to do the scales again but I wouldn't put too much pressure on it."
Kurt nodded and looked down at his shoes. "Figured as much."
"Hey, don't stress on this point. You're alive. You can talk. Both of those things we couldn't have been sure about months ago. There's no reason to lock that door, just leave it open a crack, see what comes through."
Kurt nodded again and forced back his tears with a sniff and put a smile on his face. "Thanks doc."
"I won't likely be seeing you again. Take care." The doctor put his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "You were one of my favorites." He winked and Kurt and Kurt's smile became genuine.
"Thanks, it's been nice, considering."
The doctor laughed and let Kurt get down to leave. His staff finished the clean up behind them and they all moved on to the next patient.
"Ice cream?" Burt asked, partially as a joke and Kurt grinned.
"Yes please." He was still careful with the type he chose but he walked out of that shop after putting away three scoops. Burt laughed internally, not daring to let Kurt hear him.
They shared the good news with the rest of the family and after a lot of hugs and dinner and the boys headed downstairs for a movie, Carole looked to her husband. "Doing ok?"
"He's alive." Burt said simply, they'd had this conversation a few times already, and they repeated it with every big step or progress Kurt made. This was a huge step for the family.
"He's talking and has been basically given the all clear." Carole added, watching him carefully.
"Those Bastards couldn't take that from him."
"No they couldn't. And there's possibilities on the horizon again. Hope." Carole agreed.
"They wanted to kill my boy." Burt bit out harshly. He'd been the one up on the stand talking on behalf of Kurt, of what he'd been through, the process to recover from such a cowardly and devious act.
The boys had all said the same thing, they were just following their ring leader. Murder was never a thought in their minds, they'd just wanted to silence him. So many people came forward to share what they'd witnessed, not just of the attack but of the times that had come before, what they knew. Some of it was disregarded as hearsay. Still, they were all going away for at least ten years."They got off lucky."
"We all got off lucky." Carole didn't just mean with Kurt. She'd been there when the police had arrived. She'd taken the poker and shove into the calf of one of the boys who'd dared hurt her child.
"I would have used a knife if it was more readily available." He'd reached into a drawer and pulled out a large fork, stabbing it into another boy's shoulder. Finn had looked on in shock at first at the violence from his parents but then Puck's actions had driven him to do the same. They'd caught them mostly all together. They'd been laughing about something when one had opened the door, expecting delivery perhaps. It had driven them all over the edge. Puck had chased one down the street when he caught wind that they were all in serious trouble and thought he'd be able to escape. Burt looked at her. "Do you regret any of it?"
"Only that we couldn't castrate the ring leader." She said darkly. He'd been their biggest target and he had stayed hidden for a long time. He'd known he'd done wrong and knew he was the one the blame would land on.
It did and he'd gotten 15 years for his crimes. He deserved so much more. Kurt had never deserved what they'd done to him, couldn't even begin to deserve it.
The police, the families, the boys hadn't pressed charges in return. They had all known that what their sons had done had been a million times worse, that there had been absolutely no excuse for it. An enraged family exacting blood for an injured child, that was understandable. Public opinion would have laid heavily on their side.
Somehow they escaped without Kurt learning about what they'd done to defend him. He only knew they'd rallied around him in his time of need. They didn't want him to know the specifics, just know that they would do anything for him, had and would again. They did want to protect him from the lengths they had actually gone to though. He'd already been through enough, had learned what humans were capable of and didn't want to add to his scope of knowledge.
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Back at Dalton though, they watched the Hummels leave before all turned to Thad in outrage. "Did you really have to attack Kurt and Sebastian like that?"
"I didn't attack them!"
"Yeah, you did." When everyone was nodding and Sebastian was scowling at him, Thad caught on to what had been said.
"Ah shit, do you think I really upset him?" There was silence in response to his question, no one really knew the answer to that. "I'll apologize tomorrow."
It was Sebastian who ended up being the most upset. It had been true, so he wasn't able to get mad at Thad for speaking the truth. It was just that he hadn't been presenting himself that way with Kurt. It felt like almost a betrayal to share all that with him just then. It should have been Sebastian's to tell.
Yet how do you tell someone that you were a playboy?
David latched onto Sebastian's shoulder as they disbanded. "I'm sure he already figured that much out. Kurt's smart and you haven't exactly been subtle. He didn't look shocked by what Thad was saying about you, just him going off with his boyfriend."
"Do you think-" Sebastian looked somewhat hopeful even though he had no right and it was total hypocrisy. He wasn't judging for anything that happened in the past, he just didn't want to think it was happening currently.
"All that rippling muscle? Hell, I'd turn gay for him." David was laughing but seeing Sebastian's face, he cursed himself. "Sebastian, you've got it bad."
"You've got no idea." Sebastian was self-aware enough to know it too. Both of their eyes trailed Blaine who was walking back into the building between Nick and Jeff. "Think if I tell him, he'll back off?"
David sighed and looked next to him with regret. "I think he's got it pretty bad too."
"So it'll all be up to Kurt." Sebastian despondently said.
"And you're forgetting the current boyfriend all over again. It doesn't matter, Seb, he's got one already and you'd do best not to get in the middle of that. Only madness that way lies."
"I thought you were book smart." Sebastian grumbled but he did manage to get a smile out of Sebastian, as per his plan. It was an ongoing joke since the first time David thought he'd had the lines memorized only to find out it was all out of order.
"Think he'll abide by the code of conduct of not moving in on a guy who's got a boyfriend?" Sebastian eventually asked. They wouldn't have too much more time to talk about it before they were back in their dorm with said boy prior to heading to dinner.
"If he doesn't, it won't bode well for any guy friends he has in the future. There will always be suspicion gracing his actions."
"Hence the madness."Sebastian nodded understandingly. "You going to tell him?"
"Not a thing unless he asked and I'll tell him what I told you. As for your secret, it's safe with me, from everyone."
"Thanks David." Sebastian squeezed his arm to cement his words.
David nodded and they hurried to catch up to their friends.
David really, really hoped this wouldn't destroy the friendship or pull any of them into a prank war. For a short time now since Kurt graced their lives, it had been blissfully prank free.
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EAN: Yes, I made all of the Hudmel family bad-asses. I was tired of everyone always threatening but never doing. Granted, in most cases real life, they'd all be prosecuted a little bit but remember, we're working in the laws of Glee where nobody but Puck seems to go to jail, for pulling an ATM out of the ground... Yeah, there's a whole lot of people who should have been punished far more severely for what they did. So I'm not going to apologize for it. :)
