Summary: Blaine has two very different meetings before he leaves for the Holidays, and then an even more important one when he returns.
Notes: This chapter is told through a series of flashbacks. They are in italics.
"So, your name is really Dr. Derek Shepard?" Blaine asked.
"Yes. I take it you've watched Grey's Anatomy."
"It's my mom's favorite show." After his last appointment, Molly recommended that Blaine transfer to a therapist that was not the mother of one of his friends. She would remain the family therapist but he would begin seeing Dr. Shepard individually after the first of the year. Today was less of an appointment and more of a Let's see if I actually like this guy meeting.
Dr. Shepard looked over the notes he had been given and then back at Blaine. He knew it would take a lot for him to gain his new patient's trust "I'm not going to go into any of this" he said as he put the file away "Why don't you tell me what's going on with you right now? Something Dr. Nixon would not have briefed me on. That way you can see if you are comfortable with how I handle issues."
Blaine gave his shoulders a slight shrug, an obvious tell that he was blowing the question off "There's nothing going on with me. Just getting ready to spend time with my family."
The therapist came from out behind his desk and sat in a chair across from Blaine "Bull shit. You know this is not going to work if you lie to me. Right?"
Ok, that response was unexpected, Blaine told himself "Fine, I had a fight with my boyfriend. Do you have a problem with the fact that I have a boyfriend?"
"I think my husband would have a problem if I did." Dr. Shepard told him "And just so you know, Dr. Nixon did not refer you to me because I'm gay. She referred you to me for my excellent BS detector as she felt you were hiding things from her. Now, do you want to tell me about the fight?"
Blaine began to relax. So far, he liked the guy "I lied to Sebastian, my boyfriend. In truth, I hid something from my boyfriend and then lied about why. He got so mad that he turned off his computer and I didn't have a chance to tell him about what I was doing today."
"Turned off his computer?"
"We were on Skype. He's in Paris right now for the holidays. I called him back but he said he needed space. So, yeah, he's pissed."
"And you didn't get to tell him whatever it was you did today before you came to see me?"
"Nope, and he's going to totally flip out when he hears what happened."
Flashback, earlier that morning
"Blaine?"
"Blaine?"
"Damn it, kid. If you can't pull yourself together, I'm not taking you in there" Uncle Robert told him.
"Sorry, Mr. Motta" Blaine played into his role so his uncle would know he was ok "I'm ready."
"Are you sure?"
"Let's do this."
Blaine walked into the Franklin County Jail a couple of steps behind Robert (well, Al for the day as Blaine was constantly reminding himself). He needed to act like a nervous high school kid, interning as a clerk for a lawyer/ "alleged" crime boss. Or in other words, be himself. They both showed their IDs at the desk and were escorted to one of the conference rooms that lawyers used to assure confidentiality with their clients. The plan was for him to wait outside while "Mr. Motta" talked with Hunter first. The words plausible deniability had been used. He now understood why Santana wasn't a fan of the term.
It was about a half an hour later before he was asked into the room. Even though Hunter had been told that Blaine would be there, he didn't look very happy to see him.
"So, this guy basically tormented your boyfriend for months and Sebastian just took it because he was protecting the rest of your friends from something that you're not ready to tell me yet?" This talk had become way more complicated than Dr. Shepard had anticipated. It was only supposed to be a meet-and-greet, but evidently Blaine needed to discuss this. It had become abundantly clear, rather quickly, why Blaine had not been telling Dr. Nixon these things.
"Yes, if Bas took the blame, he could still go to college in Europe and no one would know anything about it. However, if any of the other guys had that kind of black mark on their record there would be no way they could get into an Ivy League school."
"Did this guy give you answers to the questions you had?"
"Yes, he did."
Flashback, continued
"Anderson" Hunter practically seethed "I can't believe you had the fucking nerve to show up here."
"I can't believe you can't believe I'm here. I keep my word. I said I was going to kick your ass and I did, didn't I?" Blaine smirked a bit when an obviously frustrated Hunter tried to lunge at him, but his wrists were handcuffed to the table.
"Stop it, the both of you." Blaine's (we're definitely not telling this guy) uncle snapped at them both. He sat down next to Blaine and handed him a pad of paper and a pen. It was both for appearance sake and to hide the audio recorder they had smuggled in. "Blaine, Hunter and I agreed to these terms. You can ask him three questions, but only three so make them count. Hunter, after we verify your information, and you better have told him everything, I will have one of my associates represent you as I am going to develop a conflict of interest."
Blaine hadn't known that would be part of the deal "You're going to get him off?"
"I didn't say that I was going to get him off. I said that I would make sure he had a competent legal defense and not an overworked Public Defender. What happens with his case after that will be between his lawyer and himself. But Hunter, if I find out you were not 100% forthcoming with ALL of the information Blaine needs, our other agreement is off the table as well." Blaine knew better than to ask what that agreement was, but it didn't mean he wasn't as curious as hell about it.
"Ask away" Hunter said "But remember, only three questions."
"And I better not get any yes or no answers" Blaine shot back at him. Damn, he hated that guy.
"Then you better watch your phrasing Golden Boy."
Blaine knew he had to do just that because he had three different topics to cover in his three questions "Ok, but my first two questions go together. What do Kurt and Burt Hummel have to do with what you and your uncle tried to get away with at Dalton, especially how it concerns Sebastian?"
Like he was a bad guy in a movie, a sinister, almost Machiavellian grin overtook Hunter's face. Both Blaine and Robert knew that wasn't necessarily a good thing "The Congressman had nothing to do with anything that went down at Dalton except for providing the seed for the evil spawn."
"Kurt?" Blaine was set aback from what Hunter said. Yes, Kurt was a blackmailing douche bag, but for Hunter Clarington to refer to him as "the evil spawn", some serious shit must have gone down.
"Yes, Kurt. Before I tell you what his part in this was/technically is, you're going to want to ask your third question. After you hear what I have to say about Hummel you're not going to give a shit about anything else."
"Your ex-boyfriend is blackmailing you with information he has on your friends and additional information on Sebastian?"
"Yes."
"And this same guy has inadvertently included his father in what happened and that is how you hope to find a way to stop the blackmail?"
Blaine was impressed "Yes, and by the way, you are following along really well considering Sebastian was the only name I gave you."
"Well, if you're not just yanking my chain, this is a very interesting story."
"Don't get any ideas, Doc. I have yet another friend that's helping me with this and I'm giving him the rights to the screenplay."
Flashback, continued
For some reason neither Blaine or Robert doubted what Hunter said, so Blaine asked his final question "What do you know about Wyatt Dyson and Stan Tobison and what is their connection to Dalton besides you?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that's technically two questions but what the hell. Wyatt and Toby used to deal pot, coke and a little smack at both Westerville and Dalton. The three of us got caught in a sting together about three years ago."
"Used to deal?" Blaine was completely thrown off by Hunter's revelation. He was sure he recognized the two, he just didn't know from where. Why would he recognize a couple of drug dealers? He had never known anyone that took drugs. Or did he?
Hunter looked over at Robert and decided to choose his words very carefully "None of us had, shall we say, permission to work in that area. We were pretty sure that our getting busted was a message." He looked over at Robert again and added "We got the message." Robert leaned over and whispered something in Blaine's ear. That small act pushed Hunter over the edge to ask a question he had had since he learned that Blaine would be there "Ok, I've got a fucking question of my own. How the hell do you know Al Motta, Anderson? You're too squeaky-clean to be involved in, you know."
Blaine snickered at the question. It had actually taken longer for Hunter to ask than they had anticipated "Simple…His daughter is in New Directions. I gave her voice lessons. He said if I ever needed a favor. You're my favor. Now, there has to be more to Wyatt and Toby than the drugs."
"They have an obsession with your precious Fight Club. I hadn't been at Dalton a day when I got a call from them asking if I knew when the next fight would be. And when I say them, I mean the two of them. It is always Wyatt AND Toby."
"You told them about the fight?"
"They were coming to see my King of the Mountain fight. Bet they were pretty pissed when they found the gates locked."
"Do you know who told them about Fight Club in the first place?"
"Some guy that graduated from Dalton probably 3 or 4 years ago."
"What's the connection?"
"They were his heroin dealers. That's all I know, they never gave me a name. I do know that he has a younger brother that is at Dalton now, but I don't know who he is either."
"So, you recognize these two guys, but you don't know from where?" Dr. Shepard had abandoned taking notes altogether. It wasn't like he was about to forget any of this.
"Yes, it's like I can see their faces but everything that might give me a clue to who they are is a blur." Blaine reached for the messenger bag he brought with him and pulled out his glasses "Speaking of blurs" he said as he put them on, but then inexplicably began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Dr. Shepard asked him.
"My glasses. They were the cause of the fight I had with Sebastian last night."
"Wait, you hid the fact that you wear glasses from your boyfriend? I don't see why that is such a big deal."
"Oh, Doc. You have no idea."
Flashback, the night before
After the dream that Santana had interrupted that morning, Blaine had been looking forward to his Skype time with Sebastian all day. When the window popped up with Sebastian's handsome face, he could barely contain himself "Hey Beautiful, I've missed you. That picture you sent me of you and Baby Isabella was both super cute and super hot at the same time." Blaine became concerned when Sebastian didn't respond "Bas, what's going on?"
"B, when did you start wearing glasses?"
Shit!
"Bas, I don't wear them that often…"
Sebastian became agitated by Blaine lack of response, so he cut him off "Blaine, I asked you when did you start wearing glasses. Do not lie to me."
Blaine was beyond pissed at himself. Of all of the fucking times he had forgotten to take off his fucking glasses. He looked back at the screen and when he saw Sebastian's expression he knew he had to tell him "I started wearing glasses earlier this year." Once he made the statement there was nothing left to do but wait for the fallout. He expected Sebastian to yell at him, hell he wanted Sebastian to yell at him. What he got was so much worse.
What he got was a horrified looking Sebastian with a single tear running down his left cheek. It was heartbreaking "You said you just had to use eye drops."
"95% of the time, the eye drops are all that I need. Sometimes my eye just gets extra tired and I have to wear the glasses."
"Then how come I've never…" Sebastian's entire expression changed as he had one of Sam's famous epiphanies "You rub your temple. If your eye is bothering you and the drops aren't working you rub your temple. Blaine, I've seen you do that dozens of times and I have never seen your glasses. You've been lying to me!"
"I have not lied to you."
"A lie of omission is still a lie, Blaine." Sebastian's single tear had been joined by many more "I just don't understand why you didn't tell me."
"I was protecting…"
"Protecting?!" Blaine was surprised by the anger his boyfriend's tone developed, so he was not about to stop his interruption "You were "protecting" me? Where the fuck have I heard that one? Oh yeah, when I was "protecting" the rest of the Warblers from the Slushie-gate fallout. And what happened there, huh? You called in the fucking mob because you knew I was doing the wrong thing. You fought a steroid junkie to get me away from him and the guys helped you do it, because you all knew I was doing the wrong thing. And then you have the audacity to say you didn't tell me that you had to wear glasses because of what I did, because you were "protecting" me?"
"I wasn't protecting you, I was protecting me."
That statement seemed to calm Sebastian, at least a little bit "What are you talking about?"
"I wanted to be with you so badly." It was time for Blaine's tears to flow "I didn't think that you would want to be with me when there would always be a constant reminder of what happened."
"Blaine, you are a constant reminder of what happened, but I deal with it because the only other option is not being with you. And that is not an option."
"I'm really sorry, Bas." Blaine said in a voice that was barely audible.
"I know you are, but I can't talk to you right now. Goodbye, Killer."
"Wait...!"
Sebastian had cut the connection on his end before Blaine had gotten a chance to tell him about the trip to see Hunter.
Shit!
"He's just needs time, Blaine. Now, what the hell is Slushie-gate?" Dr. Shepard had to admit that he was particularly interested in that detail considering his husband's fondness of the frozen beverage. However, before Blaine had the opportunity to answer there was a knock at the door "Come in."
"Sorry to interrupt" the doctor's receptionist said as she entered "But, Blaine your mom has been trying to get ahold of you. There's a car at your house to take you to the airport."
"I always put my phone on silent…" Blaine started to explain as he pulled his phone from his bag "Holy Crap! We've been talking for over two hours. I really have to go."
As Dr. Shepard watched Blaine grab his bag to leave he thought of something "Hold up, you never told me what the jail guy said about your ex."
"Guess that will have to wait until next time, Doc. You better have your receptionist block me out an appointment that's longer than the usual ones."
"I can do that. And, give Sebastian some time. It doesn't sound like he's going anywhere."
"Thanks, Doc."
"But Blaine, there can't be anymore secrets. You can't protect him from everything, especially not what you found out earlier today."
Later when Blaine was finally on his way to the airport he had the chance to think about what his new therapist had told him before he left. He knew what he had to do.
To Sebastian: I really am sorry Bas. You said you need time, so we can talk when we are both back in town. Merry Christmas. I love you.
Almost immediately his text alert went off.
To Blaine: Merry Christmas. I love you too. See you when I get back.
Fifteen days later, Sebastian was leaving baggage claim at the Columbus Airport. His dad had come home a couple of days earlier but had been called into a meeting at work. He told Sebastian that he would be sending a car for him, so that last thing he expected to see was Blaine holding a sign that said Smythe.
"Hi."
"Hi." Blaine said back.
It was pretty apparent that neither one of them knew what to say. Finally, Sebastian stated "My dad said he was sending a car."
"Yeah, about that. I kind of asked him to call you."
"He didn't have a meeting?"
"Nope."
"Blaine, what's going on?"
"There are two cars waiting outside. The first is a town car. The driver will load your luggage in and take it to your house. The second is a limo that is taking me to Lima and the Evans' Welcome Back party. You have a decision to make. Are you going to get in the car with your luggage or the limo with me?"
"What happens if I get in the limo?" Sebastian asked knowing full well that was his choice.
"We have over a two hour ride and there's a soundproof patrician between us and the driver. There's a lot I have to tell you and you can yell at me all you want."
While Sebastian was concerned about what Blaine wanted to tell him, there was something he was even more interested in. He walked closer to Blaine's ear and asked "What if I said that talking wasn't necessarily what I had in mind at the moment?"
Blaine couldn't help but bring out his Bad-ass Blaine look and say in that voice "Arrangements were made in case that situation presented itself. Is there something you would like to say?"
"Yes, this time it's your turn to be punished."
Blaine laughed as Sebastian grabbed his hand and started pulling him toward the doors. He was beyond ecstatic that things had turned out this way, but he still planned on telling Sebastian everything that happened while he was gone. Well, everything but one. He didn't know what the fuck he was going to do with that piece of information.
Flashback, Franklin County Jail
"Ok, Hunter. What the hell did Kurt have to do with all of this?"
"A lot, Anderson. A whole fucking lot. He really didn't want Smythe anywhere near you."
"I know. He's already blackmailing me to force me to break up with Sebastian, but he's got to know that I would never be with him again."
The fact that Hunter began to laugh was surprising. The fact that he laughed as hard as he did was jarring "Cut the crap, Clarington. What's so fucking funny?" Robert sniped at him.
"What's so funny is that fact that as smart as Anderson is he still hasn't figured it out. Hummel doesn't want you Golden Boy, he wants Sebastian."