Episode 9, Chapter 3:

None of the kids recognized the tension between the adults at the Anderson household. Shelby had a supreme poker face. She would never let her true feelings slip. She could have been angry, sad or indifferent; it was impossible to tell. Carole looked the most awkward, and Burt drank another beer and spent his time watching the football game from the kitchen. When Blaine with Kurt's help brought the turkey from the kitchen, they all had no choice but to sit and look at each other.

Rachel, of course, brought the parents into the conversation beginning with Finn's mom.

"So, Ms. Hudson-Hummel—"

"Oh, please Rachel, I know that's a handful, call me Carole," she said.

"Well then, Carole, how did you spend your Thanksgivings?"

"You mean usually, or when I was little?" she asked. Rachel gestured 'all of them'. "Recent years it was with Quinn Fabray's family. As you can guess, I can't cook. Kurt can cook better than me, and Finn knows how to use the stove. I'm helpless in the kitchen! I burn, char, toast, melt, liquefy everything I'm not supposed to. When I was little, I spent my holidays at my grandmother's house in Westerville, Ohio. It was this beautiful suburban area—"

"You said 'Westerville'?" Blaine smiled and eyed his sister. They remember the story.

Finn and Kurt looked confused as to why that mattered. Everyone else at the table already knew why.

"Did I say something wrong?" Carole panicked.

"I don't get it," Finn announced.

"Well, we found out a few years ago that Rachel was conceived in Westerville because supposedly my dad heard about this music festival there," Blaine explained. As he spoke a lightbulb went off, "Dad, what made you want to go there? I mean isn't Lima like two hours away," Blaine said with the cute confused look he had when something didn't make sense.

Shelby sent Burt a murderous look before stalking out of the apartment.

Carole put her head in her hands, and all the kids could tell by her reaction there was something going on that they didn't know. Burt finally left the table to get Shelby. This left Carole to answer the questions her kids had for her.

"What's going on?"

"I didn't want to tell you kids, especially not tonight."

"Do you guys know each other like from before…" Kurt asked hesitantly, not wanting to believe what he was afraid to think.

"It was a very long time ago," she began to explain. The boy's brows rose up to his hairline. This was strange, gross and… oh my Gaga, Blaine!

"How long ago, and what exactly happened?!" Kurt panicked.

"I don't understand; do you know what's going on?" Blaine asked all of them.

"Your father and I used to date when we were about your age," she spoke knowing it would be easier if she let it all out there. She chose her words carefully and couldn't help the slow pace in which she eked out the words.

"Oh no, that's—," Blaine's face displayed his disgust. It was bad enough to think about his parents together back then, but to know that Burt had a personal life before his mom was too much. He hadn't even considered what that meant about him and his boyfriend until he caught his eye. "This is really weird." His hands positioned in front of his face emphasized his words.

"Tell me about it we could have been brothers—and sis—!" Finn said.

"Don't say it!" Rachel protested getting up. "I might need to throw up."

"I think I'm going to leave now," Tina said giving Blaine a slight hopeful expression.

Finn looked like he'd just eaten year-old pizza, and he was just now feeling the consequences. His eyes were wide as he stared at his plate dumbfounded. He was thinking it through in the silence that hung around them.

"Mom, does that mean he was looking for you? Were you seeing each other while you were still with dad?" Now he looked at her accusingly. He wanted answers.

"No, that all stopped before you were born!" she raised her hand up, crossing them in an X. Finn still wasn't satisfied.

"What about Kurt? There was a whole year in between us," he growled, and she didn't respond. Not even Kurt would have guessed she was hiding something more, but Finn saw the guilt in her face when she held her head in her hands. There was more she didn't want to tell, but he needed to know if he wanted to sleep at night. "Why won't you answer me? Why do you look so guilty?" he yelled, and she broke down crying. It was better than a verbal confession. Finn felt disgusted. He didn't know his dad because he left right after he was born. Now he knew why. She cheated on his dad. "I can't believe it!" he said throwing the napkin on his lap and barging out of the apartment.

Kurt and Blaine couldn't stop looking at each other. It was one thing for their parents to have had a thing, but the fact that their parents never called it off even after they had kids made the whole situation worse for them. It was impossible that Blaine was Carole's son, but there was a minuscule chance Kurt was Burt's.

Thankfully, when Carole had stopped crying, she explained that she knew exactly when Kurt was conceived so it was impossible for the boys to be brothers. The truth was that their parents were still an on-and-off thing until Rachel and Finn were born.


Blaine's apartment had a fire escape, and while Blaine went to get some air, Kurt took a break from his mom by stepping onto the fire escape. This Thanksgiving had not gone as planned. It was 6 o'clock and no one had spoken for the last hour. Shelby was out on the front steps. Burt was drinking a beer in the kitchen. Rachel had jumped on her treadmill to get rid of her extra stress and listened to Rihanna and Mikky Ekko's 'Stay' for support. Blaine walked to McCarren Park and walked a lap around the track field. Carole was pulling herself together on the living room couch wondering if she could talk to Burt at all.

Kurt called Blaine. He wasn't okay, and he needed some reassurance. He had no idea that his boyfriend needed it even more. Blaine was overtly softhearted, and this news tore him in two. Could they even still be a couple knowing what they now knew?

"Hey," Blaine mumbled through the phone. He should have brought gloves out with him because his fingertips were already red. Kurt could hear the hurt in his voice; he must have been close to crying.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Blaine only huffed in reply. "Look, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. As far as I know, nothing's changed between us. I still lo—I care about you very much, and I'm still yours unless you tell me different. Okay? Until you tell me different, I'm still right here." Blaine smiled over the phone. He was so worried for a moment that they were done.

Finn's face was distraught when Blaine left, and he thought that Kurt looked the same. They could get through this like they had all of the other obstacles in their relationship so far. Blaine noticed that Kurt didn't say he loved him, but he was close to and that meant everything.

"That sounds great," he smiled and laughed a little. "Is it weird that I miss you already?"

"No, it's not. I miss you too. You're my best friend. I don't like feeling like I am about to lose you."

"Never," he felt insulted just thinking about it. Having Kurt finally in his life was the best thing that ever happened to him. "You're so important to me, Kurt."

"Why don't you come back and we'll celebrate Thanksgiving, right? Even if it's just the two of us, we don't need any of them!"

"I'll be there any minute! I'm down the street," Blaine said walking down the block. Kurt waited until he spotted him and waved.

"I'm in the fire escape," Kurt said and waved more until Blaine looked and saw him.

"What are you doing out there? It's cold, and you're not wearing a coat!"

"I'm used to the New York chill. You look colder than me. Did you transform into Rudolph because I can see your nose from up here?" Kurt teased. Blaine grinned and subconsciously touched his nose. It was cold like his fingers. "I might need to warm you up."

"That would be excellent," Blaine spoke darkly. Kurt blushed and this time Blaine teased him. "I can see your cheeks, you know?"

"You want to go my place... There's a lot of tension in here," he made the excuse for why they should be alone.

"Can we pack up some food first? I'm still hungry, and I am the best cook."

"I'm on it," Kurt beamed and raced inside to put away the food. Burt let him take control of the kitchen. He got out of his way and sat next to Carole. They whispered what they were going to do now that everything had blown up in their faces. By the time Blaine got up the stairs Kurt was out the door with a giant brown bag from the food market and was presently wrapping his scarf around his neck one-handed.

"You're in a rush."

"Aren't you?" Kurt smirked. Blaine felt the tables turn, and he blushed. Now he was.

They each called their parents once they got to Kurt's home just because they knew they had to open up communication with them. The news was upsetting, but the fact that they were hiding it from them was so much worse. The parents apologized and wanted them to spend the holiday with the family, but Kurt and Blaine weren't in the mood anymore. This year, Thanksgiving took a holiday. Tomorrow things would go back to normal. Until then, today was just a normal day with better food.

"Do you have a Thanksgiving movie you like to watch?" Kurt returned to the couch from the kitchen with two forks. He handed Blaine one as he got comfortable and picked up his plate to get started on the food. The smell was slowly destroying him so he needed to destroy it.

"Well besides the Peanut's classic, I've always liked 'It's a Wonderful Life'."

"You want to find it and put it on? I haven't seen it in years."

"Oh, you'll love it! Bailey is this…" Blaine spoke, and Kurt stopped listening. He smiled and stared. He could get used to this. If all holidays were spent like this, just him and Blaine, he could be happy with that; hopefully this would be the first of many.


Finn was scared to call Rachel because he knew he messed up by leaving without talking to her. Even though he didn't want to run into his mom, he had to go back to the apartment and ask her in person what they were going to do now. With Rachel, not his mom, he had overreacted a bit. He worried that she probably thought they were over. That was the last thing he wanted.

He walked into the apartment. The sliding entrance was really not safe. His mom was talking to Burt, and when she saw him, she moved to get up, but he brushed her off and walked to Rachel's room. He knocked and entered.

She'd just taken a shower and was drying her freshly washed hair.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize to you. I was so mad I didn't check to see how you are. That was dumb of me."

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine," she said like she always did defensively.

"No, you're not. Let's talk about this."

"I said I'm fine!" she insisted and went back to drying her hair. He wouldn't leave. He sat on the bed behind her so both their reflections were in her mirror. Her room was a pink paradise. It was very her. He should have guessed what it would look like.

Finn started talking about the history project he had to do over the weekend and how bad he knew he was going to do on it.

"You shouldn't have waited until the last minute," she commented.

"I know, but I've been busy with other things, and I'm really bad at remembering dates."

"There's a couple memory tricks so you don't forget."

"Can you teach them to me?" Finn asked. Rachel half-smiled, and then remembered she was still angry, so she went back to being upset. She shrugged.

"Maybe I could."

"If it wouldn't be too much work for you, I could also use your help on the project."

"You're using me!" Rachel cried out appalled.

"I'm not. I promise! You're just the smartest person I know," he said bashfully. It was amazing how a guy so tall can look so small when he was being kind. "You're also the most kind, beautiful, honest and original," he said standing up. "Did I mention you're sexy too?" he smiled. Now she forgave him. She couldn't stop herself. Rachel spun around and kissed him on the lips. He made her feel loved even though she never thought she was sexy. Maybe in Finn's eyes, she really was.


Sam had just finished watching the brilliant final scene of Scarface with Puck and both started acting out the scene with make-believe guns. Sam was more the thespian, so he played lead while Puck was every man that he killed. He enjoyed smearing the ketchup and salsa from the snacks over his shirt to really be in the moment, but at the last second, he turned the tables on Sam. Finally, it was Sam's turn to go down. He dove onto the couch, dying with style.

Maybe they were kids, but no one could twist that into a bad thing. Of course, both being filthy rich, they had the privilege of staying that young forever. It was a choice to grow up and do something other than run the family company. Puck hadn't given up on his nightclub venture, but for now it was on hold until he got more funding from his dad who shut down the bar after two nights. Both nights had caused a commotion, and everyone wanted in, but without the steady flow of cash, the deficits wouldn't allow the club to stay afloat. Puck was celebrating his dad was by locking himself in his room with the bar just a speed dial away.

Who needed blood relatives on Thanksgiving anyway when he had Sam? The blonde would always be his brother, even after he slept with his ex-girlfriend twice, only a day after Sam and Quinn officially broke up. He was aware he wasn't the best friend in the world, but he'd always been there for Sam, so he wouldn't apologize for his faults. No one is perfect, and they had more than enough history to make up for the fact that he was totally chasing after his best friend's ex. Their situation was an old 80s song that Sam didn't know yet.

Some of the joke, however, was on him because he didn't know about the call the two had made before Sam got to Puck's home. Nothing was sure on the Upper East Side. Winds were always changing. A storefront could close without ever opening.


Sam had taken his mind off of everything because he was the guest. Puck offered to let him pick one movie if it fit the violent movie category. While he'd been hoping that Sam would lean towards the horror films of the movie spectrum, he should have guessed what he would pick knowing Sam. 'Avatar' was one of his favorite movies of all time. Sam could speak some of the language. And thankfully, it was actually very violent. While Puck regretted not being specific and instead giving the blonde almost free-range of the movie choice, he wouldn't tell him no.

Today was the day to give in and do what you can for others. Even though Puck was Jewish, this kind of reminded him of Little Christmas without the wrapped presents. If the Mohawk-wearing teen wanted presents, all he had to do was tell his maid to go shopping or step into the store himself with a vision and an AMEX credit card.

Sam became immersed the moment the blue-tinted world came onto the screen. He didn't hear when his phone rang, but Puck did and knocked his side until he noticed and answered the phone. The person on the other end of the line was not happy to hear from him. April was in hysterics. He could hear cops in the background and the WHEE-ING sounds of the engine in the background. April was at a precinct.

"Who arrests a person on a holiday?!" she cried, and he could hear a banging like she was fighting to be heard. She had to be drunker than usual. While he didn't want to, he knew he had to leave.

"Did they arrest Sandy?"

"Yes, your father, you need to start using that name," April said testily. She didn't like to hear him disrespect his father like that. "It looks like we're going to court sooner than expected. You should have seen how they pulled us out of the house. I was in my bathrobe and slippers when they barged in."

"They couldn't have come in without a warrant unless you invited them…"

"You know I don't waste time with that! I opened the door and in they came. I've been trying to get to our lawyer. Can you please try and get him? I'm waiting for you, Sam."

She hung up, and Sam breathed deeply.

"My dad's been arrested so he's almost definitely going to prison now."

"I'm sorry to hear that. If you need anything, I'm here for you," Puck squeezed his shoulder. Sam nodded and got up. "Where are you going?"

"Family calls. Kìyevame. Irayo."


Quinn moped the whole day in her bedroom. When she had the energy, she looked through her closet for all the nice things she had, but it didn't help her mood. She completely wrecked this Thanksgiving. Because she was at such a low point, she called the only person that she knew who never had a good time on Thanksgiving: Puck.


Tina called Blaine later, and he answered on the second ring.

"Hey Tay-Tay, it's fine. It was sort of disturbing, but we're over it. Kurt and I are fine. If I know my mom, she probably banned Carole from coming to our house ever again, but that also makes sense because I know my dad really wants to work thinks out with her. Me and Kurt left the apartment too, but we'll be fine tomorrow. They're still our parents. We'll give them some time to flesh out their stories then move on with our lives," Blaine said.

Answering her in short 'uh huhs' and 'yeah' as she continued, Kurt listened to Blaine's talk with Tina. Some question she asked made him uncomfortable, and Blaine lowered his voice to answer. Kurt's interest was piqued, and he leaned his head back to hear clearer.

"I don't know what this would mean if we got married, Tina. What kind of question is that?" he chided her, but now the wheels were turning. "No, no I am with him now…I won't raise my voice just so you can hear me better. He is in the other room, waiting for me to come back… Yes, I'll talk to you later, and no, we won't talk about that."

He hung up, and when Kurt heard his feet return, he acted natural. Blaine was smiling.

"What was that about?"

"Oh, she just wanted to know how everything went. I told her everything's great," he smiled at Kurt, and he loved the irony.

Everything was better than great.


~A.N. oh boy! this is a tense time for the Corcoran-Anderson and Hudson-Hummel households... Reminder that a key feature of this story is that the young characters only learn the little bit of their parents' drama at a time as I am not going in-depth with their love lives. You can generally expect that whatever trajectory is happening in Gossip Girl is happening behind the scenes. Comment your thoughts on this holiday episode!