Summary: There are decisions Blaine is not ready to make, but he couldn't be happier about ones that Cooper has made.

Note: This chapter mentions both violence and suicidal thoughts. There will also be a defensive strategy taken that some (or all) might find offensive.

On a lighter note, there are other "activities" in this chapter that would be considered mature ;).

To those that asked, I'm sorry this chapter is later than I said it would be. This is not the chapter that was planned. After the last chapter there were a couple of things I felt I needed to address before moving forward.

As always, thank you for reading.

Early, early, early the next morning

Sebastian couldn't remember if he had actually been to this part of Dalton. Why had Blaine wanted to meet in the Music Department's practice rooms of all places? And why did they have to meet at midnight? And why were there no lights on? Sebastian turned a corner and saw light from an open door. He assumed that would be where Blaine was and hopefully he would get answers to some of his questions.

He was right. Blaine was leaning against a piano in pajama pants and a t-shirt, surrounded by dozens of battery-operated candles "Glad you found me. Why don't you come in and shut the door?"

"What are we doing here, B?"

"You've been so patient with me, Bas. You can't begin to comprehend how much I appreciate it..."

"Did you write me a new song?" Sebastian blurted out, excited about the idea of adding to the I-Pod Blaine gave him for Christmas. While he liked the song Blaine wrote for Regionals, he loved songs Blaine wrote for him.

"No and I have no intention of playing this piano."

"Then why are we here?"

Blaine flashed a devious grin and walked closer. Even with the dimmed lighting, Sebastian could see the expression in his boyfriend's eyes change to one that he hadn't seen in 3 weeks, 2 days and 5 hours.

Not that he was counting.

Once Blaine was in front of him he started to undress "We're here because I'm going to bend you over that piano and fuck you six ways to Sunday." The now naked Blaine asked his mesmerized boyfriend, in that particular tone that Sebastian had missed more than he realized "You have been a good boy, haven't you?"

He had barely finished the question before Sebastian answered "Yes sir, I've been a very good boy."

"Yes, you have. That is why I have another, special gift for you. Would you like to know what it is?"

"Yes, sir."

Instead of answering, Blaine removed Sebastian's shirt and pulled him into a not so innocent kiss. Then as his lips began to work their way down Sebastian's body, he said "The room is soundproof."

Even with Blaine sabotaging his ability to think clearly, Sebastian knew what that meant. He wanted to be upset about all of the times he had to control himself, but the instant he felt Blaine's lips wrap around his dick, nothing else mattered.

A few hours (and two trips to the coffee cart) later, the boys were on their way to class like nothing happened. Being Friday, all Dalton students had Advisory first thing in the morning. The Senior Warblers all had the same advisor, and as they walked Blaine told the others of his call to Rachel and Dr. Shepard's reaction. They were still laughing when they entered the class room, but instantly stopped seeing that there were only three people there…Head Master Montgomery, Sebastian's father and Cooper.

Head Master Montgomery stepped forward "Blaine, Trent, I need you both to come with me."

Blaine looked around in confusion before his eyes settled on his brother "Coop?"

"Blaine, you and Trent go ahead. I'll catch up later." For some reason, the fact that Cooper hadn't referred to him as Squirt or Blainey demonstrated how serious the situation was, so Blaine didn't argue and did what he had been told. Sebastian was a different story.

"Dad, what the hell's going on?"

"I can't say, son. But…"

"What the fuck do you mean…"

"Sebastian!" Mr. Smythe walked over and put his hands on his son's shoulders to calm him down "I am not here as your dad. I am here as Blaine's lawyer." He glanced over at Cooper hoping Sebastian would get the clue that even though he was hampered by attorney/client confidentiality, Blaine's brother wouldn't be. "Now, the reason I stayed behind was to tell you boys that the Warblers are on lockdown for the weekend. Everyone's parents will be notified. Do what you have to, hold an emergency marathon practice for Regionals or something like that, but no one goes in or out."

"Dad?"

"Sebastian, I can't say anything because Blaine doesn't know what's going yet. I'm sure if you think about it, the fact that Trent went with him should give you a topic to refer to. Ok?"

"Ok. I'm sorry for my outburst."

"I will not say that your behavior was acceptable, but it was understandable." Mr. Smythe then pulled Sebastian in and kissed his cheek. When Sebastian playfully wiped it away like he did when he was a small child, everyone laughed which lightened the mood for the moment. His father patted the cheek and then headed toward the door, but turned to say "I promise to take care of Blaine, so promise me something. Call your mother sometime today. She misses her darling boy."

"I came home for dinner three days ago." Sebastian reminded him.

"I know." His father gave him a wink and then left, leaving Blaine's brother to answer questions.

With all attention on him, Cooper sat on the teacher's desk and said "Before you guys bombard me with questions, let me tell you what I am allowed to say. It will make this process easier." He took a deep breath to steady himself. He already knew this wasn't going to go over well.

While Cooper was getting drilled across campus, there was a gathering in the conference room adjacent to the Head Master's office. Blaine had been joined by his parents, his uncle, Mr. Smythe and Dr. Shepard. Trent was actually there as part of the support team for Doug which also consisted of Trent's parents, Doug's attorney and therapist. They had all just listened to presentation from the District Attorney and a federal prosecutor. Needless to say, no one was happy with what they heard.

"He's lying. Earl's not gay" Doug said over and over again as he cried into Trent's mom's shoulder. Since Doug's parent had not fought the order of protection, Molly and her husband immediately applied for, and were granted, foster parent status. She had cried when Doug told her that had been the first time that anyone had cared enough to fight for him. Ever since then she went into total Mama Bear mode whenever she thought her Baby Boy was being threatened.

Speaking of Momma Bears "Xavier, why the fuck does this even matter? Why does it matter if that son-of-a-bitch is gay or not?" Blaine's mom asked as her husband had his arms around their son. Blaine in turn, went to a place in his mind where he focused on the absurdity that his mother had said the word fuck. Everything else was impossible to believe.

"Pam, Stafford's lawyers argued that he is innocent, but if he had committed the crime, it couldn't be a hate crime because he is also gay" Sebastian's dad told her. "A judge bought it and kicked it back to state court where he was given bail. But remember, we will appeal and he does have to wear an ankle bracelet so we can keep track of him."

Mr. Anderson turned to Uncle Robert "What about the plea deal the other two made?" Blaine shook his head, not at the mention of Wyatt and Toby, but the way in which his father talked to his uncle. Perhaps the most surreal thing about this entire situation was how all the animosity between his parents and uncle disappeared. Gone, just like that. It made him happy. It made Sugar ecstatic.

The District Attorney answered for him "The deal we made with them was to testify against Mr. Stafford and that doesn't change if the case is transferred to state court." It wasn't the answer Mr. Anderson was seeking, so again he looked over to his brother-in-law. Robert gave him nod which was his way of saying I'll tell you what's really going on later.

There was one topic that Blaine forced himself to address "What about...?"

Mr. Smythe stopped him before he could go any further. He knew what Blaine wanted to know, but Doug and the Nixon's were not a part of it "They said no, Blaine. I'm sorry."

"I know, Mr. S." Blaine said in defeat. He had hoped the answer would be different, but knew it wouldn't be.

Molly saw the expression on Blaine's face and asked Mr. Montgomery "Is there another room we can go to? I think it's time for each of us to discuss where we go from here as families."

Mr. Montgomery led Doug's group to a different room. All of the lawyers involved also left to speak among themselves, leaving Blaine alone with his parents and Dr. Shepard "Do you know what you want to do Blaine?" his therapist asked.

"Besides going back 24 hours? Nope."

"Honey, this is new" his mother reminded him "You don't have to decide anything right now. Just know we'll support you no matter what."

"Can I make a suggestion?" Dr. Shepard asked and the Anderson's nodded for him to continue "Blaine needs someone to talk to outside of this. I know you, the Staffords and the other victim's family have gotten the courts to agree to and to keep everyone's name sealed since this happened when they were all minors, but that information may eventually come out if the press has anything to do with it. So, whoever Blaine choses needs to be someone you trust and this may sound crass, but it should be someone who is gay. I was going to recommend my husband, but Blaine has only met him once and he is currently putting in some ridiculous hours as he and his brother open a new practice together."

"Are they also psychologists?" Mr. Anderson asked.

"No, dentists. So, Blaine, what do you think?"

"I know who to call." Before he could say who, Cooper came in. "Can I talk to Coop first and then make the call?" The others left so the two of them could speak alone, but only after Blaine agreed to a session with Dr. Shepard when he was done.

"How's Bas?" was, of course, the first question Blaine asked.

"Pissed. Worried about you, Trent and Doug. So are the rest of the guys."

"Did you explain why we're on lockdown?"

"About the threats made to you and Doug? Yeah."

Blaine leaned over and rested his head on his big brother's shoulder. He liked the feeling "Why is this happening Coop? I don't want this. I want to go to Julliard and be Blaine Anderson, performer. Not Blaine Anderson, gay performer that survived a hate crime."

Cooper put his arm around him and pulled him even closer. In that moment, he didn't have an answer for Blaine, but he would figure it out. He wasn't there for his brother when he was attacked. He was around when he had his eye surgery, but not supportive. He knew he had fucked up, so he was going to do everything possible to help Blaine live out his dreams. No matter what.

He could finally feel Blaine relax, but there was one more thing to bring up "You know Squirt, due to the way you recognized your attackers, Fight Club will come out."

"I know and I planned on talking to the guys about it tonight. They're probably going to be upset when I tell them what I did."

"What did you do Blaine?"

"I hid the money. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner."

Cooper pulled away to try and read Blaine's expression. He was serious, and eerily calm "How?"

"My father is the Chief Financial Officer at Ford, my uncle has mob ties and you were stealing my allowance from the time I was five. I know how to hide money." The brothers laughed at how nonsensical what Blaine had said was. It wasn't necessarily a skill set one would put on a job resume, but for them it seemed natural. When they settled down, Blaine asked "You're still going to Lima, right? And you have Sam's gifts?"

"Yes, to both counts. Did you get a chance to talk to him?"

"It was my one phone call" Blaine answered, making it sound like he had been arrested. "I'm just upset we have to reschedule. I don't know if I'm going to be able to see him before his birthday on Tuesday."

"But you'll see him for sure at that Diva-Off thing on Thursday and then later at Sugar Shack 2.0. Plus, Sugar and Kitty are going to film his reaction to the gift everyone got him. Now, are you sure you still want Hummel present when we do this?"

"Yeah, call Puck. I still think reminding him I never told him how wealthy our family is will be what makes him crack, at least until we get a handle on how much trouble Burt is facing. He's been too quiet since he pulled that stunt at the hospital. Something's not right, so it's time to move forward. Santana has an eye on Travis, so we're covered there. I'm not letting my delusional ex blackmail Bas or anyone else I care about."

"What about Sebastian's family secret?"

"If Kurt truly has feelings for Bas like Hunter said, I don't see how he would ever let that out. Of course, this is Kurt we are talking about." Blaine paused for a moment and then said with full sincerity "I'm really going to miss you when you go back to LA."

"I'm not going back and before you protest, let me explain."

"Ok, but is this about…"

"You? Yes, you and Sugar. Things with my career haven't been going well for a while and my Thanksgiving talk with Dad put things in perspective. Then I spent time over the holidays with you and Sugar and all of the crazies you have in your life and I wanted to be around more, at least until you go take New York by storm. And when you leave someone has to help watch out for our baby cousin. You're not the only one I've failed, Blaine."

Blaine jumped over, grabbed his brother around the neck and squeezed tight, hoping to convey how truly happy he was. When he sat back down, he wiped his eyes and asked "But what are you going to do? There's not a big need for guys that are good at pointing around here."

"Haha, Mr. Comedian. I'm buying a restaurant."

"Cooper, that's perfect for you. Have you found one?"

"Actually, I have. I'm buying Breadstix."

As agreed, once Cooper left Blaine sat down for a session with his therapist, but Dr. Shepard was having a difficult time getting the conversation started. He could see Blaine closing into himself, like he had when he tried to talk to him in the hospital. At that time, he thought it would be best to leave the two really big topics on the table. They were just too hard for his patient at the time and so The List was formed. With everything that had happened that day, they should be addressing them. However, at the moment there was something more pressing "Tell me about Cough Syrup."

Blaine's expression immediately went from indifferent to stunned, then he figured it out. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and counted to 10 before he reopened them "Sebastian. When?"

"He had called before you arrived yesterday for your appointment. He was worried."

"Why didn't you bring this up then?"

"Honestly, when you arrived your behavior was pretty much the exact opposite of what I was expecting. It threw me off. Then Rachel happened." There was no need for further explanation with that. "So?"

"It's one of my favorite songs. I was butchering Beautiful, and I couldn't keep going. I couldn't do that to Aunt Cory's song."

"Blaine?"

"Doc?"

"Will you play the song for me?"

"Why? It sounds like you've heard it before."

"I have, but Sebastian said I should hear your version."

"Fine, have Bas or Beat get my guitar from my dorm room." While he agreed to the request, his body language said he was unhappy about it "But, if you ever talk with my boyfriend again, or anyone else that claims they're (air quotes) worried about me, I'll fire your ass. Not only that, I'll report you for violating confidentiality."

Ok, there was the Blaine he had heard about "There is an exception when it comes to confidentiality. Blaine, are you thinking of harming yourself?"

"No."

"Were you thinking about harming yourself when you thought you were going to be unable to play your music?"

"No."

"You're answering these questions quickly."

"There's nothing to think about."

"I'll except that, but what about in the past?"

"Yes."

"Damn it Blaine, stop with the fucking one word answers. When did you think about harming yourself?" Wow, Dr. Shepard couldn't believe he had said that, but one of the things Blaine liked about him was his No Bullshit attitude. On the other hand, he had threatened to report him to the medical board.

He saw Blaine release the tension in his body and slouch back into the couch. He hoped that was a good sign. "Blaine?"

"I thought about killing myself after the beating."

"Any other time?"

"No."

"Not even after what happened with Tommy?"

"List."

"Blaine, you're going to have to talk about Tommy and after today..."

"I said List!" The moment he said that, well yelled it, there was a knock at the door "Come in!"

Mrs. Anderson tentatively opened the door "I'm sorry to interrupt but Rachel's dads are here."

Meanwhile at McKinley

"Cooper, may I help you." Cooper Anderson was the last person Will expected to see walk into the choir room, especially when he heard how pissed Cooper was after he had told the New Directions about Blaine being in the hospital.

"Oh no, don't mind me. I'm here to observe."

Will didn't understand, until... "You are the observer Blaine sent?"

"You seem surprised. Did you think Blaine would forget?"

Well, with everything going on he did think Blaine would forget, but he couldn't say that "No, I just thought he'd ask Sam."

"He didn't want to put Sam in that position." Damn, he wanted to punch Schuster's face in "Don't worry, Blaine made me take some sort of pledge that I would not interfere. I'm here to make sure you're not getting any help, that's it. Let me make this clear, even though my loyalty is always with my little brother, I would never hurt Sugar, Sam or any of their friends by trying to sabotage their performance. Plus, I'm pretty sure if I hurt Brittany, Santana would cut my balls off. So, before everyone arrives, I'm assuming you heard the news about Blaine."

"I heard that one of the suspects from the cold-case hate crime was released on bail. I assumed they were talking about Blaine's case."

Cooper looked around to make sure they were alone "Good. Now you listen to me. A lot of people have put in a lot of effort to make sure Blaine's name stays out of the press. The only problem any of us see with keeping it that way is you."

"Cooper, let me apolo…"

"Shut up. I won't believe you, but remember this. If any of us that love Blaine find out you opened your mouth like you did when he was in the hospital, we will destroy you. Completely and utterly destroy you. Like you won't be able to get a job as a lounge singer at the Lima Airport, destroyed."

"The Lima Airport doesn't have a lounge."

"Exactly."

Before Will could answer, Cooper was almost knocked over when Sugar ran in and attached herself to his waist "Cooper, please tell me it's not true. Please tell me they didn't let out the guy that hurt Blainey."

"Wow, that got out fast. Sug, how did you find out?" Sugar stepped back and pulled out her phone, showing him the news alert. He was thankful that the article didn't mention Blaine's name or why Earl got bail, only that he did. Hopefully that meant things were contained, at least for the time being.

He handed back the phone and kissed the top of her head before he walked over to a clearly distraught Sam and pulled him into a hug. Sam had just calmed down when Cooper heard a huff of exasperation. He glanced over at the door and saw Kurt standing in between Puck and Finn, obviously unhappy that Cooper was there. Guess he was still upset that neither he or his parents would let Kurt anywhere near Blaine (or Sebastian) when Blaine was in the hospital.

Damn, he wanted to punch Kurt's face in. Of course, with everything going on, it was wrong for him to think like that, but…

"Hi, guys. Can I speak to all of you a minute?" Cooper asked, without bothering to consult Will. He had promised Blaine he would play nice, but that could wait "Some of you may remember me" Cooper stopped mid-sentence. The guy from the annoying commercials wasn't who he was anymore. "Let me rephrase, I'm Cooper Anderson, Sugar's second favorite cousin." That was better. The kids got a laugh out of it. "I'm also Blaine's brother. I am assuming most of you heard the news about what happened today, and I'm sure you noticed, Blaine's name was not in any of the reports. That was done on purpose and we want to keep it that way. We are asking that you not tell anyone that you know who the hate crime victim is." No matter what anyone said, he would always call what happened to Blaine a hate crime.

"I promise, none of us would do that to Blaine. He's our friend." Artie told him, while giving his advisor a side-eye.

"Good, that's all I needed to hear. I'm going to go sit back and observe. Mr. Schuster can explain." Cooper found a seat and then texted his parents with what he had found out. That done, he did actually sit back and observe. He had to admit that what the New Directions were doing was really good and totally different from what the Warblers had planned. The judges could easily go either way.

When they started taking breaks, Cooper found Sam talking to Puck, Finn and Kurt, who for some reason appeared distracted. It was subtle, but enough for Cooper to want to investigate further. As he started toward them, Brittany handed him her phone. It wasn't even close to his ear and he could hear someone yelling in Spanish. Yeah, he should probably take care of that. Ten minutes later, after he promised Santana that he would make sure Blaine called her, he was finally able to reach Sam.

"Hey, Sammy boy, Blainers and Seb were sorry they had to cancel your plans."

"I know it can't be helped, but it was supposed to be a double date to celebrate my birthday. Plus, the thought of having to reschedule with Narissa, AGAIN, totally sucks."

"Why don't you just go anyway?" Finn asked.

"I was going to stay the night at Blaine's and I lent my truck to my dad. Blaine told me I wouldn't need it." Sam answered, but then turned to Cooper "Wait, are you taking me to your house?"

"In a way." He handed Sam a small wrapped box and said "Happy Birthday."

Sam smiled and ripped open the package, but was confused when he found a key ring with what looked like a house key, a garage door opener and a bob with his name on it "I don't get it."

Cooper reached over, put Sam in a headlock and then rubbed a noogie onto the top of his head "It's a key to our house, you goof!" he said as he let go. "You don't need Blaine to stay at Casa Anderson. In fact, mom has started referring to the third guest room as Sam's Room."

"Your mother is a wonderful woman" Puck chimed in. Blaine had told him about Puck's little crush on their mother and he was right. It was creepy.

"This is awesome, but why the garage opener? There's no room for my truck. Isn't your dad going to build a new multi-vehicle structure now that Blaine's three vehicles take up so much room in the current garage?"

Cooper heard Kurt let out that huff again. Maybe the plan was working, but he didn't think that was the cause. Either way, they were about to find out. "You're right, there is no room for your truck." Then he made sure that Sugar and Kitty were filming this as he pulled a fob out of his pocket and said "But, there's room next to Blaine's Harley for yours."

Sam stared at the fob and then Cooper saw the change in his expression as he obviously had one of his now famous epiphanies. Without saying a word, he ran out of the room (with everyone else following). Once he reached the parking lot, there was a motorcycle with a big red bow on it. It was just like Blaine's only when the sun hit it, you could see that the color had a deep emerald tint.

"No fucking way!" Sam exclaimed as he went over and straddled it. "This is too much."

"Before you say anything else, know that his is not just from my parents. Your parents, Blaine, Sugar and her dad, Seb, the Senior Warblers and I all contributed. Face it Sammy boy, you're one of the family. The other little brother I never wanted."

"I get the first ride!" Brittany proclaimed as she and the others descended on Sam's gift to check it out. That was, all of the others except one. Cooper went back to the choir room and found Kurt picking up sheet music that had been tossed around the room.

"Spill it, Hummel. This is not a bitch fit over Sam's gift. You were in some sort of mood when you walked through the door."

Kurt tried to fight it, but couldn't "I need $10,000."

Notes:

I understand Blaine wound most likely need some sort of stool to have Sebastian over a piano, but I didn't want to ruin the mood.

The reason Dr. Shepard recommended Blaine talk to someone outside his inner circle, and why he asked Rachel's dads, will be discussed in depth soon. Cough Syrup will also require further discussion. (The chapter got really long)

In an earlier chapter I used I Dreamed a Dream, and Darren put it out as a single. I used Cough Syrup, and he sang it at Elsie Fest. So, I'm taking requests. A Klaine song that should have been Seblaine perhaps? A Rachel song that Sebastian should have sung to proclaim his love for Blaine? I have the Diva-Off and Regionals ready to go, but there are many more opportunities, like the Sugar Shack :) Be creative!