Summary: Blaine and Brody talk about the past, the state of their current "relationship" and what happens next…and then all hell breaks loose. AGAIN!

Notes: I've rewritten this note 10 times and I still don't know if it will help...The first 2/3 of the chapter deals primarily with tying up the Tommy/Brody story. I have to admit I STUGGLED writing this due to one character have two distinctively different names and lives (pre-attack/NYADA). It didn't feel right to call the pre-attack character Brody. However, at points it made sense for other characters to slip and call him Tommy. So, at those times and some (possibly confusing) references to the past, Tommy is in italics as a cue they're talking about the character we know as Brody.

Reminder: There is a review of OCs and storylines in Chapter 58. Names you might want to look for are Travis (last chapter), Cam and Doug.

A name I noticed I didn't include in the review is Cory. She was Sugar's mom (Blaine mom's sister). Since Brody lived near the Mottas and met Blaine through Sugar, he would have known Cory.

Warning: Extensive talk of a hate crime and it's aftermath

I used a perceived stereotype of Russians and the mob. I tried not to but could not work out another way to explain what happened. If I offended anyone, I apologize.

If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out
Cause they're all wrong

And time makes
It harder
I wish I could remember
But I keep
Your memory
You visit me in my sleep

My darling
My darling
I miss you
My darling
Who knew

When Blaine finished he took out his ear piece and signaled Brody he'd need a moment. After reviewing a few concerns with the concert director and members of the band/orchestra, he took a deep breath to settle himself. He had no idea how Brody would react to the song. "What did you think?"

"I'm blown away! You wrote that? For me?"

"No, I wrote it for Tommy."

There was a long pause as Brody tried to understand Blaine's comment. It was obvious from expression when he did. "I'm not Tommy anymore."

"Nope." Blaine gave his old friend a matching sad smile as he sat in the seat next to him. "But, I have to tell you, I've really come to love this song despite the problems it caused."

"What do you mean?"

Blaine explained how he wrote Who Knew in one night then in exhaustion had a mini-collapse leading everyone at Dalton to believe he and Sebastian broke-up. "They even named it the Sebreak" Blaine laughed although he hadn't found it funny at the time.

"I heard about the Sebreak."

"How? Rachel? I thought you two weren't speaking until you both were chosen as mentors."

"She was yelling at Kurt on her phone. It was impossible not to hear her." Blaine laughed at how accurately the statement described his frie…former friend. "You know, lot of guys at NYADA were pretty bummed when you came to New York with Sebastian."

"Including you?" When Brody nodded his answer, Blaine had one of Sam's infamous epiphanies. "You thought Bas and I weren't together when you wrote the I still love you letter."

"I did…well, didn't…you know."

"And now?"

"I get I'm not your Tommy anymore, but you're not my Boy Wonder either." Brody paused to edit himself. He wanted…he needed to get this right. "I'll move on eventually but I can't lose you again while I'm working on it."

Blaine put his hand on top of Brody's and entwined their fingers. "I can't lose you either but I want to make one thing perfectly clear." Blaine looked so serious Brody became concerned. "Sam is MY best friend. Go find your own bromance."

"What about Sebastian?" Brody asked with the mischievous glint in his eye Blaine had missed but usually meant trouble.

"Shut up, Dumb Ass."

"Ah, it's just like old times" Al Motta mockingly gushed as he and Cam walked into the rehearsal hall.

Blaine had asked his uncle to be there when he told Brody their attackers were in jail. While Sebastian's dad, Xavier, was the attorney of record, he had assured some of the *cough* less formal arrangements. However, at the moment Blaine was more interested in what Cam had to say. "So, how big a shit-fit did Kurt throw when he figured out Bibbi's true identity?"

Brody had to interrupt. "Ok, I'm confused. How did Hummel not know your godmother is Anna Wintour? I mean, he worked at Vogue dot com." It was Brody's turn for an epiphany. "You son of a bitch, you got him the job!"

"Long story and yes. Now, will you quit being rude and let your brother continue, Dumb Ass?"

"I thought you were going to stop calling me that."

"I remembered why I began calling you that in the first place and changed my mind…Dumb Ass."

Al set his briefcase down on the piano and smiled at the interaction. His wife would have been so happy to see how Tom…Brody and Blaine seemed to be slipping back into old habits. He hated God for taking Cory from Sugar, and him, but at least she had been too sick to comprehend what happened to her boys. "Glad to see somethings never change."

Blaine wanted to ask his uncle about Sugar but it wasn't the time. Plus, Cam still hadn't given him an answer on Kurt. "Seriously, Cam. What happened at Vogue?"

"When I got there, your godmother had already gone all (air quotes) Anna Wintour on his ass. I did remind him of the confidentiality agreement and told him to leave Chandler alone. That's it."

"Who's Chandler?" Sam had been giving Brody a tutorial on the people in Blaine's life and he didn't remember anyone named Chandler.

Blaine shook his head. They definitely weren't going there. If Brody was complicated, Chandler was calculous-level complicated. "Another long story but in the end, he's Rosa's grand-nephew."

Despite being away from the people he considered his true family for over 3 years, no further explanation was necessary. "So, no matter what the story is, he's family and we take care of him." His uncle motioned Blaine to come stand with him so Cam could sit next to his brother. Brody instantly could tell something was up. "Why do I have a feeling you two aren't only here to tell Blaine about Kurt?"

"Because they're not." Blaine felt an arm across his shoulders but he flinched away. "Sorry, Uncle Robert. I really need you to be Al Motta right now."

Brody became extremely uncomfortable. Why did Blaine need Al Motta and which Al Motta was he talking about…the lawyer or his father's former business partner? "Blaine, just tell me."

Blaine looked down when he felt himself rubbing his knuckles. It seemed like a good place to begin. "When I started at Dalton, Cam was teaching me to box for self-defense. A lot of the other guys caught on and we started a fight club."

"Ok, what does your fight club have to do with this?"

"Everything." Blaine skimmed over how much he loved being Wolverine, the betting and how they used the money to fund David's scholarship and history behind consequences. He focused on the leak…Sam, Puck and Finn meeting the two guys while trying to get into his fight with Hunter, how those guys knew details of Dalton Fight Club they shouldn't and how they said they had heard everything from a graduate.

"This is fascinating but…"

"Please, just let me get through this." He skipped ahead to having Doug search for the guys online. "He narrowed it down to 8 people. I recognized 2 but I didn't know where. Doug recognized the same 2 guys but knew exactly who they were…his brother's drug dealers. It didn't take much for him to figure out his brother was the leak. When he confronted him, he threatened to kill Doug if he told anyone. Somehow the kid found the courage to tell me and I asked to see a picture of his brother." Blaine held up his scarred knuckles "That was when this happened."

Brody had seen the scars and knew how obsessedeveryone was with Blaine protecting his hands. He just didn't understand how all of this fit together.

Until he did

"The brother and the two guys you recognized…3 guys…and you learned to box to protect yourself so when you saw…"

By this time Brody was hyperventilating and Blaine was crying. Cam grabbed ahold of his brother to help calm him and Al decided no matter what Blaine wanted, he was taking control. "Tommy" Al knew he should call him Brody but, in that moment, didn't care. The shrinks could deal with that crap later. "The brother, Earl Stafford, was the primary attacker. It didn't take much to get the other two to roll-over on him."

"How…how come this wasn't in the news?"

"Blaine insisted it stay out of the press and get settled as quickly and quietly as possible. If an investigation happened, your name would have come out. We thought he was respecting your memory not keeping your secret."

Brody had no idea how hard it had been on Blaine to keep his secret. No wonder he was furious when he walked into CallBacks without warning, knowing both Sugar and Cam were there. He had really fucked that up but fucking up was what he did best. "Where are they now?"

"All in jail. The accomplices got 3 to 5. Stafford got 5 to 8 but drugs have really fucked him up mentally. They've moved him to a psych unit."

There are 7 stages of grief. Brody went from 1 (Denial) to 5 (Anger) in 30 seconds. "So, what? He's in some cushy drug-rehab? He tried to kill us!"

"Son, you didn't want anyone to looking for you. I'm guessing it has something to do with your parents." Playing the parent card was low but it got Brody to calm down. "He's not in rehab, he's in a psych facility. Big difference. And for your information, Stafford cannot serve his time in any private facility unless it's approved by Blaine."

"Huh? How the hell did that happen?"

Blaine wiped his eyes, willing himself to stop crying. "I was pissed when they let him out of federal custody and said it wasn't a hate crime."

"Ok, that part I know. I had coffee with Leroy…"

That was a surprise. "Leroy Berry?" Cam asked, well aware of what had happened between his brother and Rachel. "Does he know…"

"I was working as a gigolo while sleeping with his daughter…yeah."

The others were thankful Brody broached the topic the three of them couldn't. "I can leave" Blaine offered. He wanted an explanation but technically this didn't involve him, especially since he had cut Rachel from his life. He'd get the answer to coffee with Leroy later.

"No, stay." Blaine wasn't the person Brody wanted to leave but he knew that would never happen. "Cam, how much do you know about what happened with me after the attack?"

"Obviously, not much, just what mom and dad…" The expression on Brody's face said more than words ever could. "No…"

"Your parents thought the attack was a message, didn't they? That's why they checked you out of the hospital and ran." When Brody nodded, Al cursed himself for not putting the pieces together sooner. He had been so focused on taking care of his wife, he had trusted Brody and Cam's father to handle business. He didn't find out until much later how badly his partner had screwed over some very dangerous people.

"They were going to send me back to our family in Russia. The only thing I had going for me was broken ribs. I couldn't fly until they healed."

It was clear Al and Cam understood, Blaine was oblivious…and not ashamed to admit it. While Brody had told him about his time in NYC, he never said how he got there, only that it was related to his parents. "But by that time, you were 18. Your birthday was a week after the attack…which, of course, you know."

"When we emigrated, my parents obtained legal status for all of us but paperwork had to be filed when Cam and I turned 18 or we lost status. It's usually a formality but…"

"Mom and dad wouldn't file yours, Son-of -bitch!"

"Nope. When I said I wouldn't go they made sure I had no choice."

Poor Blaine, he was still so confused. "Then how are you in school?"

"Carmen Tibideaux"

"Huh?"

"Like you said with so many things tonight, long story, but for some reason, I decided to spill my guts to Carmen. She's been amazing, especially considering I can't officially be a student. I was able to stretch what money I had for a long time but it ran out and I couldn't get a job without a social security number. I knew a guy who was already doing…it. I never expected Rachel to come back into my life and I planned to quit but something always seemed to come up."

This was the point where Cam lost it. "Why didn't you contact me when you went to Blaine?"

"I was going to but he said you were visiting our parents..."

"I was there demanding answers about you! Tommy, they let me believe you died! Hell, I went to Russia last year hoping someone there knew something." Cam was so upset he didn't notice Blaine was next to him until he felt his hand on his shoulder. Their relationship was never the same after his trip to Russia. No matter how hard Blaine tried, Cam couldn't forgive himself for not being in the parking garage that night.

The timing couldn't have been better when Blaine's phone went off and broke the tension. He excused himself but gave his uncle unspoken permission to continue without him. "Brody…"

Cam and Brody stared at each other, then back at the usually earnest (except with Sugar) man, wondering why he had inexplicably burst into laughter "Um, Mr. Motta?"

"Boys, I'm sorry" Al said once he caught his breath. "I just finally understand why Blaine can have nicknames for every single friend but can't remember to call me Al. Calling you Brody feels wrong. I don't know how Blaine does it so easily."

"Because he's accepted I'm not his Tommy anymore. The thing is I'm not Brody Weston either. He was a guy who was admitted to NYADA but died before coming so Carmen gave me his spot…and name."

"I think I have a solution." Al had been thinking about this since Sugar's meltdown when he made her go back to Lima on Sunday. "Let me adopt you and you can choose whatever name you want."

"Ummmm…what?"

"You're an adult so your parents have no say but your illegal status is something I'll have to look into. Right now, our number one concern is getting you under protection. Cam, call Cooper."

"Ummmm…"

"Brody, let it go. You won't win." Blaine didn't know what to think about what he overheard, especially with Sugar not speaking to him. "Did you give it to him?"

Al shook his head then took a file out of his briefcase and handed it to Blaine. "This is all you."

"Ok." The phone call Blaine received had changed the way he expected to do this. He and Brody had been through a lot, but so had someone else and that was the person he had to take care of now. "Besides having to be consulted if Stafford was moved, I had two other demands…one official, the other settled privately. The official one was his parents had to make a million dollar donation to the Trevor Project."

"Nice."

"I thought so. Watching them write the check was mildly cathartic."

"So, what was the unofficial demand?"

"Five million dollars put into a trust for the unnamed second victim." Blaine handed Brody the file. "That's all the information you need except the code to release the funds. However, I'm not giving it to you until you agree to do something first."

"What?"

"You have to tell Doug your story."

It took Brody a moment to remember who Doug was. "As in your roommate?"

"Brody, we would have never known his brother was involved in our attack if he didn't speak up. He deserves the truth." Blaine glanced down at his knuckles and was hit with a wave of guilt. "I'm not trying to be an ass but Doug blames himself for what happened with my hands. Like if he would have found help faster…"

As much as he never wanted to go through this again, there was no hesitation in Brody's voice. "When?"

"Saturday morning before we all go back to Ohio."

"Done."

It was startling how fast the atmosphere in the room changed once everything was out in the open. Al told Cam every embarrassing story he could think of, most neither Blaine or Brody had thought of in years. The fun was interrupted when Cam received a text but it was news he knew Blaine would want. "You were right, Blaine. Hummel was staying with Travis but he kicked him out. Guess he wasn't happy he about being fired." He didn't look up as his phone continued to ping with new messages. "Looks like Hummel found a place to crash. He's at Adam Crawford's place."

"Actually, that makes sense." From the glare he received, Brody realized he had forgotten to tell Blaine something. "Adam is Kurt's mentor now, not Rachel."

"And that's our cue to leave." Al was speaking to Cam but Cam was still focused on his phone. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, no…sure, let's head out." Cam had been in contact with Sam and Cooper most of the afternoon, but had hid what was happening from Al. That's why he was relieved to see Sam outside the building waiting for them. It was better if this came from him.

Meanwhile inside, Blaine had a few questions about the mentor switch. Finding out Brody was the instigator was a little less surprising after hearing about his connection to Carmen. However, that didn't mean he was happy about it. "What the hell is going on with you and Rachel?"

"I know you have problems with her Blaine…"

"I have more than problems with her. Just tell me she not sucking you into her drama."

"That was offensive and I'm not being sucked into anything. In fact, I specifically told her I couldn't be her replacement for Sebastian…or Finn. But, a lot of why she was lonely and vulnerable to Kurt was due to me so getting her a new mentee was the least I could do. Adam being taken off as liaison and getting stuck with Kurt was a bonus."

"I'm sorry, it's…"

"I get it and so does Rachel. She fucked up. Sending her dads was a good move though it might have been more strategic to wait. The not knowing was beginning to get to her. She was so paranoid she thought you were behind her eviction notice."

"I was." Before he could elaborate, Blaine saw something that made him smile. "Bas! What are you doing here?"

"Can't I surprise my amazing boyfriend? Hey, Brody." Sebastian was unsure what to say to him but somehow had to get Brody to stay. He had hoped they would be talking about Blaine and Sam's NYADA performance. He could have kept that conversation going but Blaine and Brody had been arguing. At least it sounded like a brotherly spat and not a lover's quarrel…thank god.

"Hi, Sebastian. Ok, so I'm going to go…"

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do. Your boyfriend requested a mariachi band for his NYADA appearance and I can honestly say I don't know if NYADA has one." It was the truth, but that didn't mean Brody wanted to stay and watch the way Blaine and Sebastian were together.

"No, what I'm trying to say is…" Fortunately, he could stop stalling. "Took you long enough."

"Sorry for the delay. My conversation outside took longer than I planned."

Sebastian's arrival surprised Blaine. Sam's confused him. "Sam, what going on?"

"I know why Sugar's not talking to you. It's not what you think."

Brody had never seen Blaine that angry. He didn't yell, he went quiet…too quiet. "Will someone tell me what's going on? Because if it involves Sugar, I have the right to know."

"First I want two promises from each of you…remember this is already being taken care of and don't shoot the messenger."

Neither made the promises.

Sam took a deep breath. He knew he and Sebastian could handle Blaine individually but Brody was a huge unknown. "Mr. Schue saw the Stress Relief video from Saturday. The one with me, Finn and Mike singing In the End with the Warblers and Alumni at CallBacks."

Blaine noticeably clutched his fists. "And?"

"He saw Sugar in the audience so he held her after Spanish to ask her about it."

Brody picked up on Blaine's tells. "And?"

"She wouldn't answer him so he yelled at her. Kitty heard him and got her out of there but…"

Blaine looked to Sebastian who nodded a confirmation "But what, Sam?"

"That was yesterday. This morning he demanded answers about my being a NYADA finalist. Ryder had to physically knock him out of the way to get her out of there and…Sugar was crying. Mr. Schue has been suspended pending investigation."

Sebastian and Sam were prepared for an explosion, but not total silence and then for Blaine and Brody to simultaneously head toward the door. "Where are you two going?" Sebastian asked.

To this point they had not said anything to each other, yet replied in unison "Lima."

That Sam expected. "Blaine, you can't go."

"Why not?"

"Because Sugar didn't want you to know. She didn't want anything interfering with your concert. If you go back to Lima she'll blame herself for being a distraction."

"That's not fair."

"No, this isn't." Sebastian was holding up his phone. "Go ahead."

Blainey?

"Sugar-bear?"

Is Tommy…I mean Brody there?

"I'm right here, Sweetie."

Sebastian handed Blaine his phone then he and Sam went to the other side of the room to give them as much privacy as they could with the phone on speaker. "I know we're not supposed to talk Nationals, but Sam, I don't see how Schuster comes back from this. Are you guys going to be ok?"

Sam stifled a laugh then matter-of-factly told Sebastian "Don't worry. The New Directions will still kick Warbler ass at Nationals. I've been preparing a back-up plan for weeks."

"I'm not surprised the idiot fucked-up, but I'm floored he went after Sugar. That takes a special brand of stupid. I'm not just talking about her dad, or Cooper now that he's taken over that end of the business. B's going to want revenge…consequences."

"Oh, I know. I've already called some of the musicians here and told them to be ready to prepare something new."

"What are you talking about? Why would B take something out? As much as he would want to take a dig at Schuster, the set list is set."

"He won't take a song out, he'll add one. Mr. Barnes has already been hinting he wished there was just one more song. It won't be a problem."

"So, you and B expect everyone to learn a new number and have it performance ready in 2 days?"

"Why not? If the McKinley Jazz Band can do it a bunch of musicians from Julliard should be able to."

END NOTES

In the timeline of the story, it would have only been a couple of weeks between the time Blaine found out about what Brody was doing and getting the trust money. Also, in my mind he somehow knew Brody stopped. Blaine may have been upset but wouldn't have let Brody prostitute himself when he had 5 million dollars.

Who Knew: Alecia Moore, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin 2006

The Sebreak happened in Chapters 36 & 37 The Break-Up & Telephone

The I still love you Letter is in Chapter 45 Scorched Earth

The confidentiality agreements were signed in Chapter 54 A Good Old Fashioned A** Whippin'. There will be more about them next chapter.

Cam's guilt over not being in the parking garage is a reference to Slushie-gate.

The reveal of Doug's brother as the attacker and the damage to Blaine's hands happened in Chapters 18 & 19 The Blindside Part 1 & 2

After rereading, I notice I had characters (primarily Blaine and Brody) apologizing a lot. I tried to get rid of some of them but it didn't work. I don't consider them to be actual apologizes but nervous utterances brought on by deeply instilled manners.