As always,

Guest: Well, if you wanted more Cooper you're going to be satisfied ;) And yeah, natural disasters seem like a great idea and they're already on their way! Thank you so much!

Darrinia: Hahaha, I'm glad you're cautious about Cooper because, as you say, anyone appearing in the story is at a great risk of not finishing it! I'm not done with deaths yet! XD And i'm so glad I manage to surprise you still, it makes me really happy to hear that. Thank you so much, preciosa!

TheReadSea: yeah, well, I'd love to be able to post like every day, but well, real life is getting on the way I'm afraid. And I don't think the chapter was really that short but whatever! Thanks

THEMoDePo: Well, of course Blaine was going to be devastated about his dear friend Tina, it was such terrible news to get! And yes, finally Cooper and Blaine are reuniting (at least I hope so!). And thanks for the ideas! Thank you so much!

Mildlifecrissis: I'm so glad you liked the shaving scene, because it was only for you! :) And yeah, Sam and Sebastian finally made up, you know how much I love a good Seblam friendship! And thank you soooo much for your ideas, they're going to get quite useful! Thank you so much!

CHAPTER 22

"Anderson?" Marley asked in confusion.

"Oh my God, of course, you are Blaine's brother" Puck exclaimed with a smile, finally remembering that seminar Blaine's brother had given the members of New Directions more than a year ago.

"You know Blaine?" Cooper asked, in astonishment that those kids seemed to know him and his little brother. "Have you seen him since…?"

"Yeah" Puck answered, his heart warming at the fact that those brothers, who clearly loved each other very much, were close to reunite again.

"Is he… alive?" Cooper asked, and there was so much fear in his voice that all the hearts in the place went to him –and Puck couldn't be happier about giving such good news to someone who very obviously needed them.

"Yes, he's living with us in a house in Lima, not that far from here" he explained with a reassuring smile.

Cooper breathed deeply a couple of times, as if he was trying to will his heart to start beating again. Then he covered his mouth with shaking hand and closed his eyes tightly, and before the others could react, he broke into heart wrenching sobs that resounded all around the shop.

"Hey" Sebastian kindly offered as he rested a friendly hand on his shoulder and squeezed it in a reassuring way. That man was Blaine's brother, after all, and it was very obvious that he had missed his brother just as much as Blaine had, so he already saw him as family in a way. "It's okay now, you've found him"

"I have been trying to reach him the entire time" Cooper explained when he opened his eyes, though he still couldn't stop the flow of tears. It was quite clear that the older brother had also had a hard time as he searched for his brother.

"Then your efforts weren't in vain, buddy" Sebastian assured him, and his heart felt a million times warmer when he was able to elicit a small smile on the older man.

"And he is okay?" Cooper asked, and Sebastian's face changed so drastically that Cooper immediately realized it was not going to be so easy. "Please tell me he is okay"

"Well, he was wounded pretty seriously a couple of days ago, shot on his shoulder" Sebastian was forced to admit, but he rushed to reassure the other guy. "But he is slowly recovering. He's a strong bastard"

"Shot? But will he be okay?" Cooper insisted, resisting the urge to grab on Sebastian's arms and shake him to get all the information out of him.

"We hope so. He is surely fighting after the wound he received" Sebastian answered, not wanting to lie to Blaine's brother, but not wanting to scare him too much either, before a warm smile broke on his face all of a sudden. "Oh my God, he will be so happy to see you, he's missed you so much"

"Can you take me to him, please?" Cooper pleaded, and Sebastian didn't have any doubts he would have fallen on his knees to beg if it had been necessary.

"Sure, of course" Sebastian answered in a tone that belied how absurd the question was: there was no way he would deprive Blaine of getting his beloved big brother back. "You're Blaine's brother. You're one of us now"

"We just need to get everything we can carry into the bus and then we'll get going, dude" Puck confirmed, also glad about Cooper's appearance and about what it would mean to Blaine.

"I'll help you" Cooper said without hesitation as he turned around to grab some things to carry himself: the sooner they finished getting everything in the bus, the sooner they could leave –and the sooner he could finally reunite with his brother.

Sam was sure Blaine had been sleeping for a while now, but the little whimper that escaped his lips all of a sudden alerted him that it was not the case and, on top of that, there was something wrong with him.

"B, you okay?" Sam immediately asked, looking down at Blaine's face, lying on his chest, while he caressed the curls on the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'm... just so… cold" Blaine answered, and he was shivering so intensely that he wasn't able to say a whole sentence in a row.

"I know, it's pretty cold in here" Sam answered, though he worriedly rested a hand on Blaine's forehead to check his fever and was immensely relieved when he could feel it didn't seem to be any higher. "You're very sensitive to the cold at the best of times, I guess you will feel it even more in your weak state"

"I'll be…alright, don't… worry" Blaine tried to reassure him, even lifting his face to offer a smile, but he was shaking so badly that it turned out more like a grimace that of course didn't fail to break Sam's heart.

"Maybe we could light up the fireplace" Sam offered, knowing it was not the smartest idea, but he hated so much seeing Blaine in so much discomfort that he would do anything to make it better.

"No, the… smoke would be… seen from… outside and we don't want to… bring that kind of attention… to ourselves" Blaine objected, unsurprisingly, as he had the same thoughts that Sam had –even if the latter would gladly ignore them if that meant making his terrible shivering stop.

"We are in the middle of the night, Blaine, it's dark enough so nobody will see it" Sam tried to convince him, even though he knew how stubborn Blaine was –especially about their security, and if it included putting everyone at risk just for his sake…

"They will if they… are near enough and I'm not risking everyone's… life just for my comfort" Blaine stubbornly insisted, and Sam couldn't blame him for it even if he hated it.

"I can't stand seeing you like this" Sam answered with a defeated tone.

"I'm okay, Sam" Blaine tried to reassure him, but the increasing shivering of his body only helped Sam to worry even further.

Desperate to do something to make his lover feel better, even in the slightest, he lifted Blaine's upper body until he was sitting up and wrapped him up completely with the thickest blanket they had.

"What are you doing?" Blaine asked with an amused smile, not even trying to stop Sam from doing whatever he wanted with him, so completely he trusted him.

"I'm making a burrito out of you" Sam answered while he worked, his heart warming instantly when Blaine chuckled at his poor attempt of humor.

Once he was confident that Blaine couldn't be more tightly wrapped –only when Blaine was absolutely incapable of moving– he was satisfied enough to sit against the wall and have Blaine rest against his chest, so he could throw the rest of the blankets over them and devotedly rub the arm that wasn't against him to try and get some warmth into Blaine.

"Does this make it any better?" Sam asked, his voice full of hope.

"Much better, thank you" Blaine answered in a heartbeat, and Sam didn't know if he was being honest or just trying to stop him from worrying, but at least his shivering seemed to have diminished a little and the contented sigh he let go as he nestled up to Sam's chest seemed honest enough.

Sam didn't stop rubbing on Blaine's arm long after the latter had managed to fall asleep even in spite of the cold –and Sam felt immensely proud that he had been able to help about that, because he hated to see Blaine in so much discomfort–. He thought he should probably get some sleep too, but he couldn't bring himself to relax. Maybe it was absurd, or maybe he was being unfair, but knowing Artie, Sugar and Unique were the ones keeping the fort together right then didn't make him feel they were completely safe –and yeah, he knew Mike was there too, but could they honestly count on him on his current state?–. After all, a walker had been very close to get Blaine with a full house, how could he be sure nothing was going to happen when only the worst fighters of them all were there to protect them?

Sam felt bad about thinking that way about his friends, but Blaine was his main priority right now and it was up to Sam to make sure he was safe, considering he was still too weak to fight for himself. And if that meant losing a bit of sleep… Well, so be it. He would sleep again when he knew Sebastian, Puck, Kitty or Santana were there to take care of things. And that way, he could remain sitting, holding Blaine in his arms and rubbing his sleeping form to keep him warm so he would rest easier and continue his still incipient and frail recovery. It was the least he could do for the boy that loved him so much –and that he loved so much in return– and who had given so much to keep him alive since the whole ordeal started. He owed him that and much more.

And if keeping a gun in his hand to be able to react quicker if it came to that made him feel safer, so be it. He would do whatever it took to keep his boyfriend safe, he promised himself as he kissed Blaine's forehead and squeezed more strongly to his chest.

It wasn't much later that the supermarket was already practically empty, after they had taken absolutely everything that could come handy to them –mostly food, although they also took hygiene and cleaning products, knives, tools, and everything they could think of–.

"Ok, so I think we're ready" Puck announced when there was absolutely nothing else to take. "And we won't even have to unload everything at the house if we intend to keep travelling"

"Travelling?" Cooper asked in confusion.

"We don't think staying put it's the best solution anymore" Puck explained. "We tried that and it didn't end well. We want to make sure this is everything there is before giving up, so we thought we'd start moving. As soon as Blaine is well enough, of course"

Cooper gave up a contented sigh, his heart already warming to those youngsters who seemed to care so much about his brother that they were willing to put their plans on hold for as long as it was needed just to wait for him to get better. And he was about to thank them when he saw a movement from the corner of his eye.

"Careful!" he shouted as he took a katana out of a case on his back and cut the neck of a walker that was about to attack Kitty in one swift movement before anyone else had had the chance to move.

"Wow" Brittany exclaimed once they were able to react. "That was… impressive"

"So the action-hero gene runs in the Anderson family then" Sebastian said, nervously laughing at what had almost happened.

"Ok, confess, that weird obsession Blaine has with superheroes is because you both are Iron Man's sons or something like that, right?" Santana joked and she was glad to finally elicit a little smile on the serious older man.

"Don't be ridiculous" Cooper answered, blushing slightly at all the appraisal, though the others could see he was shyly happy about it. "Let's get going before more of those decide to join the party"

Sebastian smiled fondly at the older man, sitting in front of him on the bus, who couldn't stop tapping his foot nervously on the floor as his hands clutched the seat in front of him. It was quite obvious he was in kind of a state, and Sebastian felt incredibly happy for his friend Blaine and how loved he obviously was by his big brother, who could hardly wait to see him.

"Impatient?" Sebastian warmly asked, and he was glad that he could elicit the smallest smile on his friend's brother.

"I can't wait to see him" Cooper confessed as he turned slightly back, as he could feel he could trust this tall guy who also seemed to care very deeply about his little brother. "Even more now that I know he's hurt. I need to make sure he's okay"

"He's a stubborn little bastard" Sebastian answered with a fond chuckle, trying to stop the older guy from worrying too much. "He's not going to surrender so easily. And even if he did, we wouldn't let him, you know"

"So you've all been taking care of him?" Cooper asked, clearly intrigued about what those guys meant to his brother, as he rested against the window of the bus so he could look at Sebastian and keep a comfortable conversation.

"Well, more accurately he has been taking care of us until two days ago, when he got shot" Sebastian explained, wanting to give Blaine the credit he deserved.

"My brother?" Cooper asked, only mild surprised –after all, no one knew how much of a fighter Blaine was.

"You should have seen him, he was perfect throughout the whole ordeal. He always knew what to do" Sebastian explained, obviously proud of his friend. "But yeah, we've been taking care of him in return since then. Especially Sam"

"Sam? Blaine's best friend?" Cooper asked in total confusion, remembering about the last time he had spoken to his brother on the phone just before everything started and how devastated he was about his best friend being in the hospital. "So he's not in a coma anymore?"

"No, and he's alive thanks to Blaine. They make a great team indeed. Sam hasn't moved from Blaine's side for a second since he got injured" Sebastian answered, revealing more than he had initially intended.

"Oh, hasn't he?" Cooper asked, raising an eyebrow in amused surprise.

"There was no way to get him away from Blaine… They love each other so much…" Sebastian continued with a dreamy smile, still unaware of how much he was babbling out.

"Oh, geez, I've surely missed quite a bit" Cooper exclaimed, and it was only then than Sebastian realized he had put his foot in it.

"Oh, shit, I shouldn't have told you that" Sebastian apologized, his face full of terror about what he had just done –and hoping his friend would forgive him for it–. "Blaine should have told you that, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay" Cooper answered with a chuckle, deciding he already liked that clumsy friend of Blaine's. "I've known about Blaine's feelings for this Sam guy for a long time now, even if he never really told me. If anything, I'm just glad they are reciprocated. And if Sam is taking such good care of my brother…"

"He is" Sebastian rushed to agreed, glad that his mistake didn't seem to be so bad. "I know he would gladly trade places with him if it was possible"

"Then I don't think I have anything to worry about" Cooper reassured Sebastian with a couple of pats on his shoulder and then turned again towards his seat, anxiously biting his nails. He couldn't wait to see his brother for himself.

Santana parked the bus in the exact same place from before –with a worried shake of her head at how little gas they had left– and everybody stood up to start deciding what they should be taking inside and what would they leave in the bus. Including Cooper, even if the only thing he wanted was to run inside and embrace his brother until the end of time, but he was too polite and grateful to those guys to just avoid helping them. Fortunately for them, Puck seemed to read his mind and of course took pity on him.

"Why don't you take a couple of these boxes and come with me inside?" Puck suggested as he pointed at the nearest supplies he could find, picking a pair of boxes himself. "I'll take you to your brother"

"But…" Cooper tried to protest, not wanting for them to believe he wanted to shirk, but the others only snorted fondly at him.

"Don't be silly" Puck insisted, even pushing him towards the bus' steps so he wouldn't have another option than to walk. "We can take care of that"

Puck knocked on the back door of the house with the special code they had agreed on so the people inside would know it was them when they came back, and it was Sugar who opened the door for them only half a minute later.

"Hey" Puck greeted her as he gently pushed Cooper inside and signaled towards the interior of the house. "The kitchen is right this way, we can leave those boxes there"

Cooper shyly smiled at the girl looking at them in surprise before he obeyed and started walking towards the kitchen. He was very aware of three other sets of eyes fixed on him as he passed by the living room on his way to the kitchen, but he thought he'd leave the explanations to Puck.

"Mmm…" Artie murmured, trying to break the ice without sounding too harsh. "Are you going to introduce you to our new friend?"

Puck waited until both him and Cooper had left the boxes safely in the kitchen before answering, and he put a hand on Cooper's shoulder to bring him back to the living room for the mandatory introduction.

"As a matter of fact you already met him last year" Puck explained with a smirk. "This is Cooper Anderson"

"Oh my God!" Sugar exclaimed as she jumped to embrace Cooper as if he was a long lost friend. "Blaine is going to be so happy to see you!"

"This is Blaine's brother?" Unique asked, as she was the only one in the room who had never met Blaine's brother because she was still not at the glee club that time he visited them.

"That he is" Puck answered with a happy smile as he turned to the older man. "And he is dying to see his little brother, so why don't you go and lend a hand bringing the supplies in while I take him to Blaine?"

Puck didn't wait to see if the others obeyed before he once again pushed Cooper in front of him, this time towards the office where he knew they would find the person that man had been looking for for weeks. Puck gently knocked on the door but, at hearing no answer, he silently opened it and couldn't help but smile at the image that met their eyes.

Sam had finally succumbed to sleep, exhausted as he was after so much time taking care of Blaine, but even in his sleep, in which he hadn't even bothered to lie down and was still resting against the wall, he was still holding the smaller boy to his chest with a ferocious grip, as if daring anyone to even look at him the wrong way.

Of course Cooper's reaction was quite different, as just seeing his brother after so much time –especially thinking he might never find him– would have been enough to shake him, but seeing him so weak and so obviously unhealthy because of the paleness of his skin and the flush of his cheeks was the final straw that made Cooper's eyes flood with tears that he didn't even notice.

"I will leave you with them" Puck whispered comprehensively and left after a warm and friendly pat to Cooper's back, wanting to give the brothers the privacy they so obviously needed.

Cooper entered the room slowly, trying not to make any noise so as not to scare the couple of youngsters awake –he very well knew how everyone was at their edge nowadays with all the danger surrounding them–. He couldn't help but to smile through his tears at the way that his little brother was nestled to the other boys' chest –Sam, he presumed–, and how the blond's arm was keeping him there while the tip of his fingers were lost on Blaine's hair. Whatever had happened between them seemed to be strong, and Cooper felt happy that at least something good had come out of so much tragedy.

But the time to talk about feelings and relationships would have to wait, as the most important thing right now was to recover his brother and made sure he was going to make it after receiving such a dangerous injury.

Cooper quietly knelt down next to his brother and his hand move on its own accord to fondly ruffle the curls lying on Blaine's forehead. But he hadn't even had the time to check his temperature when the boy holding his brother abruptly woke up and raised his gun to Cooper's forehead in one swift movement.

"Whoa! Stop it, dude!" Cooper exclaimed, quickly raising his hands as a sign of surrender.

"What do you want?" Sam asked in a very scary tone, and Cooper would have been happy that his brother had gotten such a fierce protector if he wasn't pointing his weapon at him.

"I just wanted to make sure he's alright" Cooper answered, pointing down at his brother with his gaze, still not daring to lower his arms, just in case.

"Oh my God, you're… Blaine's brother, aren't you?" Sam asked, realization spreading across his features once he was able to recognize him under his disheveled looks.

"Yes, I am, so maybe you could stop pointing that thing at me" Cooper sarcastically answered as he signaled at Sam's gun, as he finally felt it was safe to lower his hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm terribly sorry, I felt someone moving Blaine and woke up in a panic" Sam immediately apologized as he lowered his weapon and left it on the floor.

"Just be more careful the next time" Cooper answered sternly, but his stance immediately softened as he saw the repentance on Sam's face. "But since you were protecting my brother, I guess I can forgive you"

"I'm really sorry… though you should have made your presence known before trying to take him from my arms, you know"

"Then I'm sorry too"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked in amazement, not being able to repress a smile at the thought that the boy he loved so much was about to regain the brother he had missed so much.

"Believe me, it was a really long way" Cooper answered, and couldn't stop a shiver at the reminder of the ordeal he had gone through to find his little brother.

"Oh my God, he thought he was never going to see you again, he's going to be ecstatic you're here!" Sam explained, unconsciously squeezing Blaine's body more strongly to him with excitement.

"How is he?" Cooper asked more seriously, and Sam's heart warmed with the tenderness which with he caressed his little brother's flushed cheek.

"You know he was wounded?"

"Yes, your tall friend told me. And how you haven't moved away from him since then" Cooper answered with a grateful smile towards the blond boy. "Which I can totally believe, judging about your little action from a minute ago"

"Sebastian told you that?" Sam asked, wondering how much the former warbler had spilled out about his relationship with Blaine.

"Sebastian is it? He told me a lot of things" Cooper admitted, looking amusedly at the blush quickly spreading across Sam's cheeks.

"Oh" Sam exclaimed, almost wishing the ground would swallow him whole –not because he was embarrassed of Blaine or about the fact he was in love with a boy, but the fact that Blaine's big and very protective brother was just finding out about them…

"I'm not going to reprimand you or anything for being with my brother, if that's what you're fearing" Cooper explained with a smile, taking pity on the younger boy. "You're the famous Sam, right?"

"I guess" Sam answered, not surprised about the fact that Blaine would have often talked about him with his brother –after all, they were already inseparable a long time before they got together, right?

"My brother had been talking about you non-stop for weeks whenever I called him before… before everything happened" Cooper explained, and Sam couldn't stop a small proud smile at that even if he tried to. "In fact, when you had that accident and you went into a coma I thought he was going to go crazy. I'd never seen him like that, he was totally beyond himself with worry when he called me, that's why I was coming. It's not such a big surprise to find him in your arms after all, you know?"

"I love him" Sam said with all the confidence in the world, which instantly warmed Cooper's heart, glad that his brother hadn't been alone all that time.

"I hope so" Cooper answered, but Sam could easily see he approved of their relationship –he just wanted to make sure he was the right one for his little brother, which was understandable.

"I'm going to take care of him, like he did with me" Sam insisted.

"I can see that" Cooper answered more warmly this time, once again smiling at the way Sam had yet to let go of Blaine or even lessen the grip he was keeping on him. "So are you going to tell me now how is he?"

"He's doing a bit better, but it was rough, really rough, you know?" Sam gravely explained, involuntarily shivering at the reminder of how close he had come to losing him. "He's still fighting infection. He still has a fever and is in quite a lot of pain, even if he won't admit it most of the time. That's why I let him sleep as much as he needs"

"And is that why he is a human spring roll right now?" Cooper asked with the hint of a smile.

"He was cold, he couldn't sleep" Sam explained with an embarrassed smile.

"Maybe you should get some sleep every now and then too" Cooper answered once he had processed all the information, noticing the big bags under Sam's eyes that said a lot about how much sleep he had been missing to take care of Blaine.

"I was sleeping when you came" Sam protested.

"Yeah, sitting up and holding a gun" Cooper contradicted him, trying hard not to laugh.

"I needed to look after him"

"Well, I'm here now so we can share the duty, ok?"

"Ok" Sam answered with a smile, almost unable to wait until he could see the expression on Blaine's face when he saw his brother. "Aren't you going to announce your presence to him or what?"

"Shouldn't we let him sleep?" Cooper asked, even if he was just as anxious about hearing his brother's voice as Sam was.

"He can sleep later. Seeing you… that will do him so much good" Sam explained with the widest smile even if his eyes were swarming with unshed tears. "He lost a very dear friend today, he needs to know you're here now"

Cooper just nodded, very aware of how he was not the only one who had had it very difficult during the last weeks, and his eyes turned again towards his sleeping little brother. He smiled at how adorable Blaine looked like that, tightly cocooned in what looked like a thousand blankets and Sam's arms, his curls loose and wild as he hadn't seen them since Blaine was just a little kid. And Cooper's eyes stung with the apparition of new tears at the thought that he was going to embrace him again.

"Squirt?" Cooper whispered as he gently shook Blaine's arm, not wanting to scare the weak boy awake.

"What…?" Blaine said, still not having found the energy to open his eyes.

"Come one, Blainey, wake up, it's me, Cooper" Cooper said with a shaky voice, hardly being able to handle the anticipation of how Blaine was going to react to his sudden presence there.

Blaine opened his eyes at the unexpected voice and fixed them on the man crouching in front of him. He almost looked like a homeless man, with the long hair and the dirty beard covering his face. Blaine was close to screaming for help, feeling threatened about that man's presence in front of him, and only when he looked into his eyes he was able to recognize his beloved brother on that stranger.

"Coop?" Blaine asked, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Yeah, that's me" Cooper answered with a watery smile as he moved to unwrap Blaine's upper body from the blankets that were imprisoning him, in a very real need of hugging him.

"Are you real?" Blaine insisted as one of his hands weakly moved to touch Cooper's face, as if he needed to touch him before allowing himself to believe his brother was really there.

"Pretty much, yeah" Cooper answered as the first tear made its way down his cheek and he covered Blaine's hand with his own.

Without any warning, Blaine broke into tears and Cooper rushed to gather him into his arms, seeing as Blaine was hardly able to move, though he reciprocated the embrace as strongly as he was able as his entire body shook with sobs that his big brother tried to shush through some whispering in his ear while their tears mingled together. Sam felt tears coming to his own eyes at the scene, incredibly moved to see the person he loved so happy. Especially considering everything he had had to endure, both physically and emotionally, and on the same day he had lost one of his dearest friends.

"You're alive" Blaine murmured between sobs, his voice muffled with the skin on his brother's neck as he had yet to let go of him.

"I am" Cooper reassured him while lovingly rubbing his back in an attempt of calming him down –after all, he was pretty sick, all that display of emotions couldn't possibly be good for him. "And yet I came here to find you close to not alive"

"How…?" Blaine tried to ask when he broke the embrace to look at his brother's face, but he was incapable of finding the words to form a coherent sentence.

"I was coming to Ohio when all of this started, remember?" Cooper reminded him, perfectly understanding the question as his hand moved to the back of Blaine's neck, half comforting, half meant to hold him up as he seemed to be too weak to do it himself. "I was coming to support my little brother, whose best friend was in a coma"

"And you were coming for me?" Blaine asked in amazement.

"Of course, you needed me" Cooper answered as if it wasn't that big a deal. "But while I was on my plane I got a voice message from Mom, saying something awful was happening and how you weren't home but at Lima, at the hospital with Sam, and that she was terrified that something would happen to you before they were able to reach you. Of course when the plane got diverted to Indianapolis and it landed there, hell had already broken loose, and I couldn't reach Mom again, or you. So from then on I only cared about finding you. I've been looking for you all this time"

"I'm so glad you made it" Blaine said with a shaky chuckle as he embraced Cooper again and the latter gently kissed his temple.

"So… something tells me Sam is not just your best friend anymore" Cooper said with an amused smile, hoping for a lighter mood to give Blaine some respite from all the emotions before they could continue discussing other important matters, and only then Blaine realized he was still sitting practically on Sam's lap and that the blond's arm was still around his waist, holding him upright.

"Mmm… no, he isn't" Blaine answered, deeply blushing as he looked over his shoulder and smiled tenderly at his boyfriend, who nodded at him and reinforced his grip on him in acknowledgment. "Are you?"

"No, Blaine" he answered, accompanying his words with a kiss behind Blaine's ear in that spot that never failed to make him sigh –that time being no exception–. "We are so much more than that"

"Good" Blaine answered as he let himself fall on Sam's chest again, obviously exhausted, though he took Cooper's hand in his, still unable to break the contact with his brother as he turned to him. "I still can't believe you're here"

"I find it hard to believe I found you too" Cooper answered while holding Blaine's hand between both of his, his voice still shaking with emotion. "But tell me, how are you feeling? Sam and Sebastian told me you had been seriously hurt"

"I was, but I'm okay now" Blaine answered all too quickly, and both Sam and Cooper snorted at that.

"B, not that I mind because I love having my arms around you, but do I need to remind you that I need to hold you up because you can't do it yourself?" Sam jokingly said, chuckling again at Blaine's obvious embarrassment.

"Ok, maybe I'm still a little weak" Blaine admitted.

"And feverish" Cooper intervened as even his hand was feeling warmer than usual.

"And feverish, but I'm much better than I was yesterday" Blaine answered, looking at Sam for confirmation and this time the latter could only agree.

"Alright, I'll give you that" Sam answered with a contented kiss to the tip of Blaine's nose. "And you will be even better tomorrow, you'll see"

"Listen, Blaine…" Cooper started, hating to ruin the moment, but he needed to ask. "Do you know anything about Mom and Dad?"

"Cooper, they…" Blaine tried to explain, but he couldn't possibly say the words. His hesitation, though, was enough to make Cooper understand.

"They're… dead?" he finished for him, his heart on his throat.

"We don't know that" Sam felt obliged to intervene because, even if Blaine had been convinced about their death from the beginning, the truth was they had never had any proof.

"When everything started, I was in that hospital and I stayed there for two weeks until Sam woke up. If they had been alive…" Blaine insisted.

"They would have come looking for you" Cooper finished for him, understanding and sharing Blaine's reasoning.

"And… Sebastian and Trent told us Westerville burnt down and doesn't exist anymore" Blaine added, his voice shaking again at the reminder that they very probably had lost their parents.

"We've talked about this hundreds of times, B" Sam intervened with a sad sigh, reinforcing his grip around the other's chest to remind him how he was there for him. "That doesn't mean they didn't escape. A lot of people did"

"Well, whatever happened we'll face it together, ok? I'm here now, little brother" Cooper said, trying to stay positive for his brother, protective urges striking with force as he once again pulled him out of Sam's arms to wrap him in his.

"I love you, Cooper" Blaine whispered in the crook of his big brother's neck.

"I love you too, Squirt" Cooper answered, feeling as if he was never going to be able to separate from him again.

"But you're going to get rid of that awful beard soon, right?" Blaine asked, and it wasn't until a couple of seconds later –and after Sam let out a hearty laugh– that he understood that his obnoxious little brother was joking.

"Shut up" he answered with his own chuckle as he squeezed Blaine even more strongly to him. And man, it felt good to hear him laugh again.

A/N: First of all, let me apologize in advance because I don't think I'm going to be able to update for a few weeks. It's a very difficult time at work right now, I'm very stressed and I'm not handling it or myself too well these days. I'm terribly sorry, but I literally don't have the time (or the energy) to write quick enough to post once a week. Plus I have to create the new chapters from scratch from then on (I don't have anything written yet), so...

Also apologies for the lack of action in the last chapters... But all these emotional scenes were a very important part of the story for me. The action will be back soon, though, and it will last for a bit, I hope!

And last, but not least, thank you all for your ideas! They will come very handy and you guys are the best!