Chapter 24: You Were Adopted
Kurt is still outside of Bree's Bar. His phone rings and he answers it.
"Elena, is that you?" asks Blaine on the side of the call.
"I'm here."
"Where are you?" asks Blaine.
"You lied," Kurt says simply.
"Not until I explain, please," says Blaine trying to plead with Kurt.
"So, you didn't lie?"
"Just tell me where you are, so that I can come get you."
"How am I connected to Kristian, Blaine?
"I honestly don't know."
"And I'm supposed to believe that?" asks Blaine in an annoyed voice.
"It's the truth. I- Listen..."
Kurt hangs up on him. He turns around; Puck is behind him.
"You okay?"
"Don't pretend to care. I know you're gloating inside."
Inside the bar, Bree calls somebody on the phone; she turns on a blender so she's not overheard. "Hey, it's Bree. You'll never gonna guess who walked into my bar."
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Mercedes wakes up just outside the tomb, and searches for a way out.
"Ow. Hello?! Anybody?! Ahh!"
She sees a pentagram inside a circle engraved on the wall.
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Blaine walks up to the porch of Grams' and knocks on the door. She answers.
"Hi."
"Can I help you?" asks Grams.
"I'm Blaine." Blaine extends his hand to Grams. She shakes it. "I'm a friend of Mercedes's. Her dad told me that she might be here."
"She was. Not anymore.
"Do you know where she went?"
"No. But you do."
"I'm sorry?" asks a confused Blaine.
"I told her to face down her fear. And I'm sensing now that you know exactly why she was scared. You know what I am. And yet you offered me your hand, which means you wanted me to see that I can trust you."
"Can you?" asks Blaine.
"I trust you'll keep her safe. You'd better be on your way, then. I'm not going to invite you in. I'm sure you understand why," says Grams and she closes the door on Blaine.
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Anna gestures to an aisle of bookshelves. "This aisle is local and state history. And Civil War is one over. What do you need?"
"Local. 1860s," answers Finn. "Do you work here?"
"Nope. You want reference. This way. Um, home-schooled. I study here for a 'mock-school environment.' Ah, here we go. Original settlers, town archives, Founders' stuff. It's all here. So, what's your topic?" asks an interested Anna.
"The town's fear and hysteria surrounding the war and how it influenced certain writers of the time."
"You might want to focus that," says Anna.
"The origin of local folklore and myths."
"You mean, the vampires?" asks Anna.
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In Bree's Bar, Kurt and Puck are eating.
"Let's just say that I'm descended from Kristian…does that make me part vampire?" asks Kurt.
"Vampires can't procreate. But we love to try." He smirks at Kurt. "No, if you were related, it would mean Kristian had a child before he was turned.
"Did Blaine think that he could use me to replace him?
"Kinda creepy if you ask me." Puck looks at Kurt's plate and sees he hasn't eaten the pickles. "Come on, what? You don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?"
"How can you even eat? If technically you're supposed to be…"
"Dead?" Puck laughs. "It's not such a bad word. If I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions normally."
"This nice act. Is any of it real?"
Bree interrupts them. "Here you go." She hands Puck a beer.
"Thank you."
"I'll have one too."
"Hmm?" Puck looks at Kurt with a confusing look.
"Time out, remember? For five minutes? Yeah, well that five minutes is going to need a beer."
Bree gives Elena a beer. "There you go."
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"You're kidding me, right? There's no such thing as vampires," reasons Finn.
"Well, there's not a lot of documentation, but the stories have been told since the Civil War. My granddad used to tell me all these creepy stories when I was little. And he said that his granddad told them to him," says Anna.
"Yeah, that would be called folklore. Vampires are a metaphor for the demons of the day!"
"Which are?"
"The union soldiers! I've read the stories myself. They talk about the enemy, the demons that attack at night."
"That sounds like vampires to me," says Anna.
"Allegorical vampires. Which is what it is. Creative expression during a very volatile time. I mean, a country at war doesn't want realism. They want fantasy. Thus, vampire fiction."
"Man, you're smarter than you look. I gotta give it to you; when I first saw you, I missed it."
"Yeah. I've had a rough go of it lately, but I'm just now getting back to my old self."
"Well, good luck on your paper. I gotta get home." Anna starts to pack up. "You know, my great grandfather actually showed me a journal once of an ancestor, and he had written all of this creepy stuff about vampires. It was believable.
"Wait. A journal?" asks Finn.
"Yeah? Why?"
"Are you sure you have to go?" asks Finn, wanting her to stay.
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Mercedes tries to get a signal from her phone from down the hole.
"Come on, phone! Great! Great."
Mercedes slowly moves closer to the door with the pentagram. Blaine jumps down into the hole and taps Mercedes on the shoulder. She screams.
"Mercedes!"
Mercedes not knowing who it is yells, "Get away from me!"
"It's me! It's Blaine."
"Blaine?" She relaxes slightly and begins to explain. "The ground gave way, and I fell..."
"It's okay. It's okay. Calm down. Come on, let's get you out of here."
"How?"
"Just close your eyes. Trust me."
Blaine wraps his arms around her firmly and jumps. When they land, he releases her. "You can open your eyes now.
Mercedes opens her tightly shut eyes and looks around. "Whoa."
"I didn't want to scare you."
"How did you know where I was?" asks Mercedes.
"Well, your grandmother told me what you were doing. I guessed the where," answers Blaine.
"I heard them...down there...behind the door. Are they in pain?" she asks Blaine.
"In the beginning...yes. But not anymore. They've starved to the point of desiccation."
"But if they have blood…"
"That's not going to happen, Mercedes. They can't get out. Emily saw to that when she had you destroy the crystal. You're safe," explains Blaine.
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At the counter, Kurt, Puck, Bree and others are taking shots of liquor.
"Ready...Go!" shouts Bree.
They all shoot. Kurt downs his quickly, claps his hands, and does a little dance.
"That's three!" He looks at Puck and pretends to pout. "Aw, do you need a bib?" teases Kurt.
"Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol."
"Whatever. All right. Who's next? Another round, Bree."
"Kurt, you should be on the floor," says Puck.
"I am not even drunk. My tolerance is, like, way up here," says Kurt in a slightly drunken voice.
"All right. Here you go," says Bree as she pours another round of shots.
A man enters the bar and goes to the counter away from Kurt, Puck, and the other patrons. Bree goes over to him and motions with her head towards Kurt and Puck.
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At the Grill, Finn and Anna are playing foosball. And Anna's winning.
"So, you have no idea where the journal is?" asks Finn.
"Nope. Gramps died. And all the kids split his stuff. I can ask," replies Anna.
"I just find it weird that our ancestors kept the same kind of journal. It's crazy."
"Maybe it's based in some partial reality."
"No. It's gotta be metaphorical. My ancestor wrote short stories."
"So, that's why you're hung up on the fiction of it all.
"No, I'm hung up on the fiction of it all because I've seen 'The Lost Boys' and 'Near Dark,' like, fifty times."
"Are those movies?" asks Anna. Finn nods his head. "Hey, I've never seen them. Maybe we can have a Fright Night and rent a whole bunch of vampire movies," offers Anna.
"Uh, yeah, sure," replies Finn in an unsure voice.
"Why does that sound like a 'no way in hell'? Sorry, I'm blunt."
"No, it's-I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I just recently got out of something. It's a little too soon, you know?"
"Oh please, sure. No worries. I meant as friends. Yeah. Look, I really gotta go. Nice meeting you, Finn," says Anna as she gathers her things and leaves the Grill.
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Kurt is playing pool against some local patrons. His phone starts ringing, he stumbles over and picks it up.
"Hello?" he answers.
"Kurt?" asks Emma.
"Emma! Hold on, it's loud in here."
"Kurt, where are you? Are you okay?" Emma asks worriedly.
"Huh? Yeah. No, I'm good. Everything's fine. Hold on, I can't hear you."
"No, it's not fine! I got a call…"
Kurt stumbles outside. He falls and drops his phone. He picks it back up.
"Hello?"
The mysterious man from the bar comes up behind him and covers his mouth. He drops his phone.
Back inside the bar
"Hey, where's your boy?" asks Bree.
Puck looks around and can't find Kurt. "Hmm. He was right back there."
Puck leaves the bar. He looks around and sees Kurt's phone on the ground. He picks it up. He walks around the bar, over to an electrical building. Kurt is hanging on to a tank.
"Puck, no!" yells Kurt as he tries to warn Puck.
A man attacks Puck with a wooden plank with supernatural speed. It was a trap. The man hits him repeatedly. Kurt jumps down from the tank and runs towards Puck.
"What the hell?!"
The man pours gasoline on Puck.
"No!" shouts Kurt.
The man turns to look at Kurt, revealing vampire teeth.
"Who are you?" asks Puck in a weak voice.
"That's perfect! You have no idea," the mysterious man yells.
"What are you talking about? What did he do?" asks Kurt wanting to know what's wrong.
"He killed my girlfriend. What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!"
"Nothing," Puck answers simply.
"I don't understand," Kurt says.
My girlfriend went to visit Blaine, and Puck killed her. Got it." He hits Puck with the bat.
"Ahhhhh," says Puck.
"Tina? Tina was your girlfriend? She told me about you. She said that you were human," says Kurt.
"I was," says the mysterious man.
"Tina turned you?" asks Kurt.
"If you want to be with someone forever, you must live forever," explains the man.
"She loved you. She said that, 'When it's real, you can't walk away.'"
"Well, that's a choice you're not going to have to make," says the man.
"Don't. Don't, please, don't hurt him…" pleads Kurt.
The man lights a match. "I'm doing you a favor."
"Tina loved you! And she was good! And that means you're good too. Be better than him. Don't do this. I'm begging you! Please," reasons Kurt.
Tina's boyfriend picks up Puck and throws him against the building, but stops attacking him after that.
"Thank you," says Kurt with a sigh of relief.
"It wasn't for you." He leaves. Kurt rushes to Puck's side.
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"Well, now, look who's returned from battle," says Grams as she opens the door. Mercedes and Blaine are on the porch. "Can I talk to your friend for a minute?"
"Thank you," says Mercedes. She goes inside; Grams stands in the doorway.
"I appreciate your help, Blaine.
"You're welcome, Sheila," replies Blaine.
"I wasn't sure you remembered," she smiles.
"October 1969."
"I was barely a teenager!" she exclaims.
"And you were leading what was probably the only anti-war sit-in within miles of Lima."
"Hmm," she smiles.
"You know, when you spoke, people were mesmerized. I know I was."
"Until the cops showed up." They laugh. "You took a big risk coming to see me earlier. Letting me read you, realize who you were. It could have gone in a completely different way."
"Your family has a very long history of keeping my secret. I knew that I could trust you if you believed I was worthy of your trust."
"Mercedes knows, doesn't she?"
"Yes," Blaine answers.
"Please understand, our loyalty can only extend so far. This town won't be easy on any of us if they figure it out. And I'll protect my own before anybody else."
"I know that," understands Blaine.
"As long as we're clear. Goodnight, then."
"Goodnight, Sheila," replies Blaine. Grams closes the door and Blaine walks to his car.
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At the bar, Bree is alone and taking a shot.
"We were just leaving, I wanted to say good bye," says Puck from behind Bree.
"Good to see you again, Puck," Bree replies.
"No kiss?"
"I'm full of vervain. I put it in everything I drink."
"And you're telling me this why?" asks Puck in a confusing tone.
"Tina was my friend. How could you?" She turns away but Puck is already in front of her, scaring her. "The tomb can be opened!" she offers.
"You're lying!"
"Emily's grimoire, her spell book. If you know how she closed the tomb the reversal process will be in her book. You can open that tomb," Bree says to save herself.
"Where is this book?" asks Puck menacingly.
"I— I-," stumbles Bree.
"You have no idea, do you?"
"No. I'm telling you the truth," she says.
"And I believe you." He touches her face. "My dear, sweet Bree. That's why I'm almost sorry." Puck thrusts his hand into Bree's chest and grabs her heart.
"Ugh!" she grunts with her dying breath.
Puck rips her heart out, wipes off his hand, grabs his jacket, and leaves.
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In Puck's car, on the road back to Lima.
"So, why did you bring me with you?" asks Kurt, feeling more comfortable with Puck.
"Well, you're not the worst company in the world, Kurt. You should give yourself more credit!
"Seriously?"
"You were there in the road, all damsel-in-distress-like. And, I knew it would piss off Blaine. And…you're not the worst company in the world, Kurt," explains Puck.
"I used to be more fun," remembering his life before his parents died.
"You did okay.
"I saved your life!"
"I know," says Puck begrudgingly.
"And don't you forget it!" smiles Kurt.
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Blaine is in his room when Kurt walks in to talk to him.
"Hi," says Kurt, nervous to talk to Blaine.
"Hi," replies Blaine.
"You could have told me." Kurt isn't gonna tip-toe around this. It's way too late for that.
"I wanted to tell you."
"You said no more lies. Only the truth. I can handle the truth, Blaine. As crazy as it is, I can handle the fact that you are a vampire. And that you have a vampire brother. And that my best friend is a witch. I can accept the fact that the world is a much more mysterious place than I ever thought possible. But this...this lie, I cannot take. What am I to you? Who am I to you?"
"You are not Kristian. You are the opposite of everything that he was," says Blaine, trying to make Kurt understand.
"And when did you figure that out? Before you kissed me? Before we slept together?"
"Before I met you," answers Blaine.
"What?" asks Kurt, looking confused.
"The first day of school. When we met. It wasn't for the first time, Kurt."
"Then, when was it?"
"May 23, 2009."
"But that was…" Kurt stops speaking, realizing what the date was.
"That was the day your parents' car went off the bridge."
"You were there?"
"Every couple of years I come back here, to see Cooper and see my home. Last spring, I was out in the woods, by old Wickery Bridge. And I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged. Your dad was still...he was still conscious. I could get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him, until I helped you," explains Blaine.
Kurt sits down on Blaine's bed and starts crying. "Oh, my god. When I woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how I got out of the car. They said it was a miracle."
"I went back for them. But it was too late. I couldn't- I couldn't save them. When I pulled you out, I looked at your face. You looked like Kristian. I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren't him. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Kristian. And I wanted to leave town, but, Kurt, I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you. I wanted to. But you were so sad."
"Why do I look like him?" asks Kurt, wanting to know how they're connected.
"Kurt, you've been through so much," Blaine says, not wanting to answer the question.
"Why do I look like him, Blaine? What are you not telling me?"
"It didn't make any sense to me. You were a Hummel. He was a Bianchi. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth. You were adopted, Kurt."
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Finn is sitting on the floor of the library looking through books. Anna approaches him with a folder.
"There you are," says Anna, finding Finn.
"Hey," Finn greets.
"Hi. Okay, look. I know I don't know you, so don't ask me why I did this. I just, sometimes…mostly all the time- I have this need to be right. So, I googled and…" She gives him the folder.
"What is it?" asks Finn.
"Proof. Sort of," answers Anna.
Finn starts looking through it. It contains printed-out articles from the Lima Public newspaper. Among the articles are ones titled "Another Animal Attack - Second attack in Two Weeks leads to closings and cancelations", "Campers Found Mauled - Animal Attack suspected in recent deaths".
"What does this mean?" questions Finn.
"Well, I only went as far back as 1942, and found that there's been a string of animal attacks periodically in and around this town for the past seventy-five years. It's consistent. In '62, five bodies found. In '53, four people killed. In '74, three people dead. And there's been five this year. All attacked. All suffered major blood loss, as in drained of blood."
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Blaine and Kurt are sitting together on Blaine's bed. Kurt is still shaken by the news.
"How do you know all this?" asks Kurt, trying to make sense of it all.
"Your birth certificate from the city records. It says Kurt Hummel, Lima General Hospital. But there's no record of Elizabeth Hummel ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant."
"What else do you know?"
"For me to go any further, I would've had to look into the Bianchi family, and I couldn't do that. It's too much of a risk. If someone found out I was asking about Kristian…Listen to me, it doesn't matter. You are the man that I love. I love you.
Kurt kisses him. Blaine cradles him in his arms as he cries.
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Emma is agitatedly scrubbing a pan in the kitchen when Kurt walks in. Emma meets him at the door. "I don't set a lot of rules, Kurt. Not with you. I trust you to tell me the truth. Where were you? Why would you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that."
"Now is not the time you want to talk to me about lies," replies Kurt, trying to go upstairs.
"Don't do that. Don't turn this back on me. I didn't do anything." Emma follows him to the staircase.
"Okay…Question: am I adopted?" Emma has a shocked look on her face. "I trust you to tell me the truth too, Emma. How could you not tell me? I thought we were closer than that," Kurt spits back in her face.
"Kurt, I didn't…you parents asked me not to.
"I don't want to hear it!" Kurt walks up the stairs and into his room.
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Will is sitting at the bar, drinking, when Puck walks and sits at the counter. Will turns in his direction and the two make brief eye contact.
"Bourbon," says Puck, giving his drink order to the bartender.
FLASHBACK
Terri is in bed, and Will is getting ready to leave.
"I love you," says Terri
"I'm going to be late tonight," replies Will.
Later, Will returns home and goes to the bedroom. He sees Puck holding Terri in his arms, drinking her blood.
END FLASHBACK
Will recognizes Puck as the vampire who killed Terri. He sets his drink on the bar, his hand visibly trembling.