That night, after the Andersons had left, Kurt told his parents he was going to go shower and head to bed. He knew that the following day at school would be brutal. By then, what had happened would be all over the school, and the gossip mill at McKinley never shut down.

In the shower, he scrubbed and scrubbed at his skin, trying to rid himself of what had happened earlier that night. He got out and tried to not look in the mirror, not wanting to see the reminders of what had happened in that bathroom. However, looking in the mirror when he got out of the shower was like muscle memory, and he couldn't help himself.

Kurt gasped. He wanted to scream at what he saw. Instead, he called Blaine.

After the third ring, Blaine answered; he was out of breath like he'd run to the phone. "Are you alright? Do you need me to come back?" he panted, voice haggard and sharp. He winced. He hadn't meant to sound quite like that.

"I'm not sure on either of those questions," Kurt said, loving that Blaine's first instinct was to rush back to him.

Blaine took an audible breath and tried another question. "What were you calling about, Kurt?" he asked in a gentler tone. "I was just getting into the shower when I heard your ringtone and rushed back to my room."

"With all of the crap going on this week," Kurt began, trying to keep his mind out of the gutter and focus on the reason he was calling Blaine, "the increase in the bullying, the auditions, all of it, I completely forgot."

"Forgot what, sweetheart?" Blaine asked.

"Today's my birthday, Blaine," Kurt said with tears in his eyes.

"Oh shit! I forgot!" Blaine said, panicked. "I am so sorry. Please, how can I make it up—"

"Blaine," Kurt said loudly trying to stop Blaine's frantic apologizing. "What is significant about someone's 16th birthday?"

"Oh…" He paused as the significance of this phone call dawned on him. "Please, tell me it's not her," Blaine said brokenly. He didn't think he could bear it if Kurt wasn't meant for him.

"Ever since we were three, I've known it was you," Kurt said. "And now, my mark says what my heart has always known."

"I'm coming over. I don't care if I have to walk; I'll be there in just a little bit," Blaine said and then hung up the phone.

Kurt hurried to get dressed, knowing that Blaine meant what he said, and there would be no talking him out of it. He walked downstairs, and his parents were in the living room, quietly talking.

"I'm sorry if all of that ruined any plans you might have had this evening," Kurt said. "I just realized what today was. I've been kind of out of it, haven't I?"

Burt and Elizabeth got up and hugged their son. "We could tell that things haven't been great for you, and we just kept waiting for you to come to us. Please forgive us for not stepping in sooner?"

"You're forgiven. But only if you can forgive me for not coming to you sooner. I have a feeling that the next few days and weeks will be hard enough as it is. We don't need any misplaced guilt, okay?" Kurt said and hugged his parents back just as tightly. They had been standing there, hugging each other, for a minute or so when there was a knock on the door. "That's for me; wait here, please," he said and went to let Blaine in. He wasn't surprised to see Carter and Claire Anderson right behind him.

Kurt smiled at Blaine, grabbed him, and led him into the living room where Kurt's parents were still standing, very confused.

"Any idea what's going on?" Burt asked their returned guests.

"No clue," Carter responded. "Blaine just said he had to come back over here, even if he had to walk. We figured it was something important, so we offered to drive him. You're up, boys," he finished.

"May I?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded imperceptibly. Blaine took a steadying breath and moved the collar of Kurt's shirt on his left side, revealing his bruised mark. None of them had really gotten a good look at it earlier, and nobody but Blaine could see the difference.

Tears welled up in Blaine's eyes as he stopped looking at the mark and his gaze was drawn to Kurt's face. They just stood there, staring at each other for several seconds before Blaine raised his eyebrow like he was asking a question. Kurt must have understood because he nodded his head again, and the boys shared their first kiss, right there in the middle of Kurt's living room, with all of their parents watching.

Burt and Elizabeth understood immediately and turned toward the Andersons. "Today's Kurt's 16th birthday," Elizabeth explained with a shaky voice.

"So…" Carter said, tears welling up in his own eyes at witnessing this amazing event.

"Looks like it," Burt replied, shedding his own tear.

Claire had always been somewhat of a smartass and started singing, and all of the other adults joined in.

"There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don't got a lot to say
But there's something about her
And you don't know why
But you're dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl"

By this time, Kurt and Blaine were smiling and decided to join in. Their parents were ridiculous!

"Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
It's possible she wants you, too
There is one way to ask her
It don't take a word
Not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl"

The group was entranced by the bond they saw forming in front of them and finished out their song with the boys' favorite part.

"Sing with me now
Sha-la-la-la-la-la
My, oh, my
Look at the boy too shy
He ain't gonna kiss the girl
Sha-la-la-la-la-la
Ain't that sad
Ain't it shame, too bad
You gonna miss the girl"

"We have cake," Elizabeth said once the laughter had died down. "Would you all like to join us?"

"We'd love to," Carter answered, and the adults went into the kitchen, giving the boys a couple of moments to themselves.

"Can I see yours, too?" Kurt whispered.

"Of course," Blaine replied.

Kurt moved the collar of Blaine's shirt to reveal his curvy initials in his own handwriting on Blaine's left collarbone.

"Is it too soon to tell you that I love you?" Blaine asked, so quietly Kurt wasn't sure he'd heard him right.

"No," he answered. "I think I've loved you since we were three, Blaine. And, I couldn't be happier if I tried that you're my soulmate."

"I love you, Kurt," Blaine said with so much feeling that he started tearing up. "I love you so much, and I am officially the luckiest man in the world."

They kissed again before breaking apart when Carter yelled, "Stop sucking face and get in here so we can eat cake, boys."

The boys broke apart again, giggling, and headed into the kitchen to eat cake with their parents. Today might have been full of horrible things, but they were far outshined by this single positive.

That night, after everyone had left and Kurt had laid down to sleep, everything that had happened came rushing back, and he started to hyperventilate, his heart feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest. Kurt had seen enough movies that he knew what was happening, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to calm himself down alone. With as much strength as he could muster, he hollered out, "MOM!" It wasn't a shout, but it was as close as he knew he was going to get; he just hoped that it was loud enough.

Sure enough, mere seconds later, he heard both of his parents rushing to his bedroom. Elizabeth slid onto the mattress behind Kurt and held him while Burt sat right in front of him and kept eye contact.

"Look at me, bud," Burt said steadily. "Right in my eyes. That's good. Okay. Now, I want you to match your breathing to your mom's. Feel her breathing behind you. Match yours to hers. You're safe, and we've got you. That's it. You're doing so amazing, Kurt."

This went on for a few minutes until Kurt's breath had slowed down, and his heartbeat was back to normal. Elizabeth was running her fingers through her son's hair as she continued to model breathing for him.

"Can one of you stay in here tonight?" Kurt whispered, hating how small and weak he sounded and felt.

"You bet we can," Burt said, not hesitating at all. "I'll go grab the air mattress, and we'll both stay if you'd like."

"Please," Kurt whimpered. "I thought I was okay, but I don't think I am just yet."

"Kurt," Elizabeth said after her husband left to get their temporary bed for the evening, "how would you feel about seeing someone who can help you through this better than we might be able to? Someone whose job it is to help people heal from these kinds of situations? We can be there with you, or Blaine if you'd rather. Or, if you'd like to be by yourself, that's fine, too."

"I think," Kurt said, "that I'd like to try." This was something he'd been thinking about ever since the attack happened. He had always admired people who went to therapy. They were so strong to know that they needed help with something that they couldn't quite manage on their own. And, he knew that this wasn't something that he could manage on his own.

"Alright," she replied. "There's this new kind of therapy that is supposed to work really fast, and from what I've heard from my boss, it's really effective. Her son died in a car wreck a long time ago, and she's been struggling with it; so, she decided to go see one of the therapists in town and was so happy that she did. It took a few sessions just because she's been living with it for so long, but she said that her therapist told her that if she had been able to see someone right after it happened, the brain could have healed itself faster or something like that. I didn't quite understand it all, but it's an option."

"I'd like that," Kurt said. "Even if it means I have to relive it right away, I'd rather heal as fast as possible from this and be able to move on."

"I'll call her tomorrow and get something set up," Elizabeth answered. Sometime during her talk about the therapist, Burt had come back in and was laying the bed out on the floor. He didn't want to start airing it up until they were done talking.

"You can go ahead, Dad," Kurt said, smiling at his dad for being so amazing.

The trio settled down for the night and quickly fell asleep. When Kurt woke from a nightmare, they'd repeat what they'd done earlier to help him calm down. Then, they'd all go back to sleep as best as they could.

When it was time to wake up and get their morning routines started, all three Hummels were dragging, and they knew that the day was going to be a rough one. They all quietly got ready for the day, knowing that they were meeting the Andersons at the school 10 minutes before class started to talk with Principal Figgins. Elizabeth found the phone number for Jill Daniels, the therapist her boss had talked about, and called to make an appointment for right after lunch that day. Jill agreed that getting Kurt in as quickly after the incident had happened as possible would allow for the best and most effective healing.

Both families arrived at the school at the same time. Blaine rushed over to Kurt to hold him. It didn't look like either boy had slept well the night before.

"It's going to be alright, my love," Blaine whispered as Kurt started shaking, being this close to the school. "I'm not leaving your side all day."

"I have a therapy appointment right after lunch," Kurt whispered.

"I'll come with you and sit in the waiting room, then," Blaine replied, pulling his soulmate just a little closer.

"Could you…" Kurt started but got lost for a moment in his head, thinking Blaine might think he was being ridiculous for wanting him there.

"If you want me there with you, I'll be there with you," Blaine said, understanding his soulmate's hesitation.

"How do you already know me so well?" Kurt asked softly.

"I've always known you, Kurt," Blaine replied and gave him a peck on his lips before lacing their fingers together and going into the school to face whatever might come together.

When the group arrived at the office, they noticed Coach Beiste and Coach Sylvester there, almost like they were waiting for them.

"I figured you all would show up today," Coach Sylvester said. "We're here to offer backup and support. Figgins is a pushover, but without our programs at this school, funding will drop. I will be damned if an incident like this gets swept under the rug."

Kurt and Blaine were shocked. They didn't think Coach Sylvester cared about anything besides herself. What they didn't know, though, was that she didn't tolerate bullying of any kind. Her sister had been bullied because of the way she was born, and if she could stop it from happening to someone else, she would.

"Coach," Blaine started, "thank you for being here. The game tonight, it might…"

"Don't worry about it, punkin," Coach Beiste said. "If you're feeling up to it, you'll play. If you're not, we'll manage. This is far more important than a game."

"Thank you," Blaine said, thankful that both he and Kurt had all of this support around them.

Carter was the next to speak. "Here's how I think this needs to go," he said in an authoritative tone. "You two stay out here, please, and if we need you to tell your side, we will have you come in. I just don't want to have to put Kurt through telling this any more than he has to."

"Thank you, Carter," Kurt said, misty-eyed, and went to hug his someday father-in-law.

"You're welcome, Kurt," Carter said, hugging the boy in front of him back.

"Can I help you all?" Principal Figgins asked, poking his head out of his office.

"Yep," Coach Sylvester stated. "We're gonna have a chat. All of us. Let's go."

After they all went into the office, Kurt and Blaine sat down and laced their fingers back together. The boys sat quietly and listened to the raised voices coming from within the office, not quite making out everything that was being said but hearing words like "slushie" and "slam" coming from Burt. Carter bellowed words like "lawsuit" and "fired" before silence came. Apparently, that had gotten the principal's attention.

As it turned out, the two families got everything they asked for. The slushie machine was to be removed from the campus immediately, and any student caught with the beverage on campus would get immediate detention. Any bullying, verbal or physical, would result in an automatic three-day suspension and a week-long suspension from all groups or sports. And, any repeated offense would be grounds for expulsion.

Before she walked out of the office, Coach Sylvester knelt down in front of Kurt and said to him, "You're going to be safe here from now on. I promise it." He had never seen her be more sincere and determined.

"Thanks, Coach," he said.

"Have you ever thought about joining my Cheerios?" she asked. "You'd make a great addition to our squad. Think about it." She stood up, winked at him, and then made her way down the hall.

"That boy won't be coming back here, either," Carter told them.

Kurt and Blaine released a breath they hadn't realized they were holding and smiled at each other before looking back to their parents. "Thank you all for everything," Kurt said. "It means…so much to me that you're all supporting me, us, like this."

"We love you, kiddo," Burt said like it was nothing. But to Kurt, it was everything.

"You're both excused from classes for the rest of the day, too," Coach Beiste said. "Blaine, let me know when you can about the game, ok?"

"He'll be there," Kurt piped up.

"Kurt, what about—"

"Blaine," Kurt said, knowing his soulmate was going to ask about the therapy appointment. "That will only take an hour, two hours tops. You love football, and I, for one, want to come to watch you score lots of baskets."

The occupants of the room chuckled under their breath at this.

"I'm kidding," Kurt said fondly. "I know it's home runs!"

At this, the occupants were rolling with laughter.

Therapy that afternoon was interesting and intense. That's all Kurt could describe it as. He opted to have Blaine stay in the waiting room while he went in. His mom had booked a double session, knowing that Kurt would likely want to do it all at once. So, after the introductory things, Jill helped him process through the incident. It was fast, it was intense, but boy was it effective.

Jill had described the process to him but told him that he would understand it when he felt it. And, man, did he feel it. Almost too much at times, but he trusted her, trusted that she wouldn't let him fall too far, trusted that she would make sure he got out the other side safely. An hour later, he had processed through all of the bullying he had been through and had a good 15-20 minutes to decompress and calm down.

"That was weird," was the first thing Kurt said after the processing was complete.

"You'd be surprised at how often I hear that," Jill said. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel free," Kurt said with renewed tears in his eyes. This time, though, they were tears of relief. "I feel like I could have a new normal, and that's strange for me. I've felt afraid and defeated for so long, I'm not sure how to be like this, how to be optimistic and hopeful."

"It will get easier," Jill said, "adjusting to the new 'normal' as you put it. Eventually, though, it won't be so new, and you won't notice these new feelings as being weird. They will just be. Do you feel like you want to do a follow-up appointment next week, just to check-in and make sure we didn't miss anything?"

"I think that might be a good idea," Kurt said. "I feel amazing right now, and I'd like to have one, as you said, just to check-in and make sure I'm still feeling well."

"We can do that," Jill said and made an appointment for the following week.

Kurt came back a few times during the remainder of his high school years for check-ins, but his symptoms from the trauma were essentially healed to where he could live a happy and functional life.

Kurt and Blaine took their relationship slow. They took the time to really learn and know everything about each other. Throughout the rest of their high school careers, they won championships together in Glee, Kurt cheered on Blaine when he scored the winning goal at the state competition, and they danced together at both of their proms.

When they were deciding on colleges, Boston was calling to them for some reason. Kurt wanted to write, and after seeing the impact Jill had had on Kurt, Blaine wanted to do what she did and become a counselor. Both of their families were 100 percent behind them. When they walked across the stage at graduation, their families were by far the loudest.

A/N: The song used is "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid.