I had to completely rewrite this chapter from scratch, which is why it's so long in coming. Hopefully, it's worth the wait.

I've gotten very few reviews the last few chapters. I hope you're all just busy too, and that you're not growing unsatisfied with the story. If I'm screwing up somewhere, I hope you'll drop me a line letting me know.

As you can see from this chapter, we're closing in on the end. I'm thinking two more chapters after this.


Chapter Nine

As Burt arrived at the door to Bebe's sitting room in the Thunder Palace, he had a moment to wonder what the hell it was he was doing. He'd broken her daughter's heart less than thirty hours earlier (a daughter who for all he knew could be on the other side of that door). And now here he was, come to talk about the attack on his girlfriend like nothing had happened.

Bebe was going to tear him limb from limb. And since he'd made Kurt stay home and 'let the grown-ups handle this', his son wasn't even going to be able to fix him afterwards.

The door opened. And damn, shit, hell, it was Kasha.

Kasha closed the door behind her, surprised. There was a moment of delight at seeing him before Kasha's eyes went dark and shut down as smoothly as Kurt's did. He'd never seen his wife do that before. "Burt? What are you doing here?" she asked calmly.

"I- uh…." Well, this was going great. "I was hoping I could talk to your mom about the investigation. I mean, I get if she's not interested in it anymore. But Kurt found something she needs to see."

Kasha watched him for a moment, before lifting up her phone. "[Mother, can I see you in your sitting room for a moment? Burt says he has something we need to see regarding the recent break-in.]"

Bebe's voice was cool to the point of mocking. "[Is that so.]"

Kasha sighed. "[Mother, not now please. This is important to Kurt.]"

Burt could practically hear Bebe roll her eyes (he suspected that was the reason Kasha hadn't gone with video for the call). "[I'm just finishing up with Prince Caysi. I'll be there in a moment.]"

Burt was momentarily distracted. "Caysi's here?"

Kasha opened the door again with another sigh. "Not now."

Burt entered the room behind Kasha, realizing as soon as he did why she'd suggested speaking here. Most of the knickknacks had been cleared out and the remaining room was now covered with files and reports on the two break-ins.

Burt couldn't quite place the dying song Kasha had on. But then it started up again and Burt recognized the blaring lyrics of 'You give love a bad name'. Kasha blushed as she realized how it looked and quickly shut the music off. Before Burt could do anything awkward like try to console her she turned to one of the files. "Kurt sent me the pictures from the apartment. What else is there?"

"Kurt didn't get a picture of it," Burt told her. "Either he was too shocked, or he didn't want Jute to accidentally see it."

"[And why is my grandson keeping things from his boyfriend?]" Bebe stood at the door, looking every inch like she'd rather have Burt executed out front than talk to him. "[Did YOU put him up to this?]"

"[Kurt decided. But I agreed with him,]" Burt declared. He knew he ought to be on his best behavior, but couldn't help twenty years of ingrained behavior. "[It'd be damn awkward for Jute to have to be the one to report this.]"

"[Well, you do know a little something about making things awkward,]" Bebe replied.

Kasha didn't have time for their bickering though. "Burt, do I have to get a fire shaper to pull the information directly from your brain? What did Kurt find?"

Burt paused; he wasn't any happier to have to tell them this. "Kurt found an imprint on some of Carole's clothes. He said it matched the seal of the Presidential Guard."

"The Guard?" Kasha repeated. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was suggesting. "You don't mean OUR President's Guard."

"[I can't possibly imagine a reason for the President's elite troops to attack an Earth woman,]" Bebe stated coolly.

"I don't have one either," Burt replied. "All I know is what Kurt found at Carole's apartment." Burt suspected if it hadn't been for Kurt identifying the seal she would have flat out told him he was stupid and paranoid.

As it was Bebe had to admit, "[I suppose it would explain why we were unable to find any credible links between the two.]"

"Well, we don't know for sure that they aren't," Burt reminded.

"We do now," Kasha assured him. Apparently, Bebe considering the possibility was good enough for her. "Burt, no one would attack an heir to the Water Standard. It would be worse than death for them."

Burt frowned. He wasn't that convinced. "We still don't know why someone would go after Carole. If they were hoping it would get me and Kasha together-"

"Well we all know the road to hell and what it's paved with," Kasha interrupted.

"You said Prince Caysi was here before," Burt reminded her. "You don't think-" Burt cut off, realizing the glare Kasha was giving him.

He'd seen it thousands of times before, but he'd forgotten that Kurt had originally gotten it from his mother. "No." she declared firmly.

"I didn't mean anything by it," Burt declared. "I'm just trying to figure this out."

"[I think you've figured out all you can,]" Bebe replied. Burt was about to snap at her, insulted, but Bebe had flipped open her phone and called one of her staff members. "[Please alert the President that my daughter, my grandson's father, and I will be there shortly. We need to speak to him.]"


"You're joking!" Jute exclaimed. "Finn? Kurt's almost-brother Finn?"

"I'm serious," Mercedes told him. "Kurt being hung up on Finn was the reason the whole almost-brother thing happened in the first place."

Jute laughed. He'd been rather hesitant to officially meet Mercedes, still a little sore at her for rejecting Kurt the way she had. But Kurt had been so down after not finding anything at Carole-Hudson's. And Jute had already found out from his afternoon with her that his biases weren't necessarily accurate ones.

And so it was again. Back at the same coffee house and having a great time. "I mean nothing against Finn, I respect him a great deal. But I can't imagine he and Kurt being compatible."

"I think at that point the only things Kurt was hoping were compatible were in the front of Finn's pants and the back of Kurt's." Mercedes waited for Kurt to respond to her bait. But Kurt was staring into his water, engrossed in his own thoughts. Mercedes shook her head. "I really like you, Jute. It's a shame Kurt isn't here to see how well we're getting along."

Kurt raised his head, hearing his name for the first time. "What was that?"

Jute leaned in close to his boyfriend. "[If you want, I can show you how to make where you'd rather be appear in the water.]"

Kurt blushed. "I DO want to be here. I just- I'm feeling a little guilty."

"Is this about Ramie?" Jute asked. "I know that you said you were finally getting along."

"We are," Kurt told him. Kurt seemed focused inward again, but ultimately asked. "Do you mind if I ask you how it happened? At the end, I mean."

Jute was surprised, but not upset by the request. "Not at all. I told you about the accident. And how Ramie seemed different afterwards. Why do you ask?"

"It was something he said today," Kurt admitted. "He said he knew he was wrong, but he couldn't help it. Like some kind of compulsion."

"You mean like he'd been brainwashed?" Mercedes asked. Kurt jumped, and Jute nearly did likewise. He'd almost forgotten she was there.

"He MAY have implied he thought that was what had happened," Kurt told her.

It should have been a surprise. Instead all Jute felt was a little click in his head of something finally making sense. Not that it really did. "I don't know why anyone would do that to him. But honestly, there was something about him after he got hurt. Everyone told me that he was just upset, but there were days that I didn't feel like I knew who he was."

Jute was pleased to hear that his voice was smooth, but Kurt's eyes filled with concern at the old wounds. Jute felt a little better when Kurt put a comforting hand on Jute's. "Is he just projecting or could someone actually do that." Kurt asked.

Jute shrugged. Having the ability to do something wasn't the same thing as being ABLE to do it. "Very few fire shapers could do that, but there are some. Did he say who he thought might have done it?"

"No, but-" Kurt paused, considering. That was when Jute realized that what had been bothering Kurt all day hadn't been the lack of evidence. Or even his encounter with Ramie. "There's something I need to tell you."


Apparently when you were the Water Standard Bearer, it was fairly easy to see the President of Sateen with minimal notice. As soon as they arrived at the Presidential Palace, Burt found himself, Bebe, and Kasha escorted directly into Aramid's office.

Aramid rose with genuine delight at seeing Bebe. "[Such a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you today, Bebe?]"

"[Business today, Ari,]" she told him as soon as his aide had left, closing the door behind him. "[And I'm afraid not pleasant business. Our grandsons have discovered a link between the attack on the Earth woman Carole-Hudson and the Presidential guard.]"

"[Surely not,]" Aramid exclaimed. Although he took the news seriously enough to shutter the windows to the office, giving them even more privacy. "[Why would they do such a thing?]"

"[I was hoping you might have the answer to that,]" Bebe admitted. "[Has Captain Rush mentioned anything that he thought might be unusual?]"

Burt wasn't that ready to assume Rush wasn't involved. But it was a good ploy for them to not immediately start accusing people. Instead of outright saying no, Aramid thought about it. "[No. I don't know if the situation with Burt-Hummel and Kasha has even become common knowledge yet.]"

"[I thought the Presidential Guard had better than common knowledge about everything,]" Burt noted.

Aramid smiled, but something about it made Burt uncomfortable. "[I suppose that's true,]" he allowed. "[What do you suggest we do about it?]"

"[This is a highly delicate situation,]" Bebe replied. "[It might be best if I had my people continue to investigate. They can be much more discrete than a public inquiry would be.]"

"[That's very kind of you to offer,]" Aramid told her. "[But I would feel better if I investigated this myself.]"

"[I think it would be best if you stayed far out of this,]" Kasha admitted. "[We don't want people thinking you're trying to cover something up.]"

"[I'm certain no one would think that.]"

Burt went back to thinking about the evidence as Aramid went back and forth with Kasha and Bebe over who would lead the investigation. It looked like Kasha was right; that there was no way the Guard would ever go after Kurt. But there wasn't any reason for them to go after Carole, unless they were working on something bigger.

And couldn't that project have had something to do with Kurt?

Burt jumped a little as his phone silently vibrated in his pocket. He'd forgotten that Bebe had upgraded both his and Kurt's phones to work between Earth and Sateen. Seeing that no one had noticed, he discretely took his phone out and checked the text message.

It was from Carole, and it shook him to the core. 'The police linked some fibers in my apartment to the drug dealers supplying the men that attacked Kurt.'

Burt didn't know what to say. This whole time he'd been waiting for confirmation that there was a link. But he still didn't know why anyone would do this. No one had benefited from this, except for Bebe if it meant Kurt was now going to spend more time on Sateen now. But Bebe wouldn't do this.

Jute benefited too, though he couldn't have possibly have known that at the time of the first-

And then Burt realized.

The President benefited. From his grandson involved with the Water heir. From his friend getting her daughter home. Maybe even from his son, if Caysi was still interested in pursuing Kasha. "Oh my god."

Everyone stopped to stare at him. "[I'm afraid I didn't catch that,]" Aramid noted. "[Could you repeat it please?]"

Burt knew he shouldn't be accusing the President of Sateen, but he couldn't help himself. "[It was YOU. You're the only one that got anything from the two attacks.]"

Kasha was confused. "Burt," she noted privately in English. "The Guard didn't go after Kurt."

"[Yes they did!]" Burt exclaimed, shoving his cell phone at her. "[They doped up those thugs that went after my son.]"

"[What!]" Kasha yelped as she examined the text message. "[Why? Why would they do that?]"

"[To get Kurt back on Sateen,]" Burt declared. "[He never would have gone back if he hadn't been so freaked out by the attack.]"

"[No,]" Bebe insisted, shocked and in disbelief. She couldn't deny the evidence, but she couldn't imagine what Burt had deduced. "[Someone else must have done this thinking it was what he wanted. The Guard, perhaps even Captain Rush. Ari would never-]"

"[Either way, mother,]" Kasha stated, "[this has to be investigated openly, now. We have to get to the bottom of this.]"

"[I'm afraid I can't allow that,]" the President told her.

Everyone just stopped. Speaking. Thinking. Believing. Bebe looked at Aramid, shocked. "[Ari?]"

The President was looking just as calm as ever, but his pleasant demeanor had completely evaporated. "[Burt-Hummel is quite correct. And I can't let my Guard suffer for something I ordered them to do.]"

"[No,]" Bebe gasped. "[You wouldn't do such a thing.]"

"[Your son-in-law is correct about something else too, Bebe,]" Aramid informed her. "[You'd lost your grandson, if it hadn't been for me-]"

"[If it hadn't been for you, my son would be able to walk past our kitchen without having a panic attack!]" Kasha shrieked. This was apparently the first Bebe was hearing about how bad Kurt still had it. And she looked devastated by it.

The President moved to console her, but she flinched back. "[Bebe, I'm sorry Kurt-Hummel is still distressed by what happened. But it had to be done. I've done too much to get Kurt and Jute together to have his irritation with you keep him off-world.]"

It occurred to Burt that this confession was coming too easily, and it worried him. "[So are you planning on turning yourself in, then?]"

"[That isn't necessary,]" Aramid insisted. "[The Earth police have no way to come after the Guard, or even suspect their existence. Kurt is uninjured, the Earth woman is uninjured. There's no reason this has to come out.]"

Bebe stared at the President as though he was a stranger. "[No reason? You attack MY GRANDSON! Interfere with my daughter's marriage. Who knows what else? And you want my silence?]"

"[I think you've gotten enough out of this that I've earned your silence,]" Aramid told her.

"[Maybe SHE has,]" Kasha allowed. "[But I'm going with a hearty] FUCK YOU! [That's human talk for no deal.]"

"[Language, Kasha,]" Bebe sighed, almost automatically. But it was clear she was past her denial. "[You should be able to tell the President his offer is laughable without being crude.]"

And yet the President still didn't seem to be bothered. Burt was starting to really worry. "[Can we go now?]" Burt asked. "[I think I've heard all I want to hear.]"

"[I'm afraid I can't allow that, either,]" Aramid told him. "[Not until I know you're going to remain quiet.]"

"[I'd love to see how you plan to manage that,]" Kasha replied caustically.

Aramid hit a button on his desk. "[Captain Rush. I need a team in here, now.]" He turned back to Burt, still as calm as ever. "[Captain Rush is an amazing fire shaper. Those men that attacked Kurt-Hummel? They were perfectly normal until he got through with them. So was Jute's ex-lover. And the bit of interfering that resulting in Kasha's accident? I've never seen skill like that.]"

"[Kasha?]" Burt repeated. Bebe and Kasha seemed once again stunned silent.

"[It didn't end the way I wanted it,]" Aramid admitted ruefully. "[But who could have predicted what happened. Replacing the unpleasantness of this afternoon with memories of tea and agreeing to let me handle this, though. That will be quite easy for him.]"

Burt couldn't believe this was happening. Going to the President of Sateen and accusing him of sending his Guard after Carole seemed to be the worst case scenario. The idea that every bad thing that had happened to his family in the last ten years was the result of this one man? The leader of Kasha and Bebe's whole planet? How were they supposed to fight that.

When the door opened, and Rush came in with some of his troops though, Bebe finally seemed to snap out of it. "[You will never touch my family again!]" However, all she did was raise her hand and let it fill with some water. Burt didn't know what that was supposed to accomplish, but from the shocked look on her face he guessed it didn't do what it was supposed to.

Aramid smiled sadly. "[My grandson was so excited the day he came to me and told me he'd discovered that Earth silk blocks our abilities. I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd known that for some time.]"

Bebe growled at him. "[Even without the Water standard, your Guards are still no match for me.]"

"[We'll see.]"

Burt had never been more glad that Bebe and Kasha carried their [dueling weapons] everywhere as a matter of course than when they both drew them. Burt backed up between the two women so that they were in an outward facing circle.

And pulled out his own [dueling weapon], which he'd brought owing to a bad feeling this might go south.

Aramid looked at Burt's weapon, and then back at Bebe, unimpressed. "[Seriously?]"

"[You didn't really think I'd let the father of my grandson grow up completely ignorant of our ways, did you?]" Bebe snarled.

(to be continued)