Here is the final chapter. This is the first time I've written anything like this and I'd love to hear what you thought about it and the way it ends.

Warning – this chapter contains the attack on Kurt so some violence and homophobic language as well as some swearing. Again I am not medically trained or have any particular knowledge of American law procedures so it's probably not very accurate.

As Kurt left the music room one of the officers immediately asked his name and address. Satisfied they had the correct student the group walked down to the dean's office. Kurt was very glad it was still class time so they only passed two students, neither of whom Kurt recognised. As they reached the office Kurt saw his dad and Carole sitting inside, both with cups of coffee which were untouched. Carole immediately jumped up and hugged Kurt, albeit very carefully and then his dad did the same. Dean Archibald indicated a chair and Kurt sat down and looked at the officers expectantly.

"Kurt, as you know we arrested David Karowsky, Azimo Adams and Matt Taylor for the attack on Saturday afternoon. Their lawyers are making all sorts of accusations, throwing other names into the hat and pretty much they are denying everything."

Kurt almost laughed, why was he not surprised. Two of the boys had made his life a living hell for almost three years, the last few months particularly bad prompting his move to Dalton. He thought it the bullying would be over now that he wasn't at school with them but it had been his bad luck to meet them on Saturday at the Lima Bean.

"Kurt," the officer continued slowly, "we need you to come back to the station with us. We need to go through your initial statement again, ask you some further questions etc. I warn you now that it's not going to be easy. Adams' brief is throwing up a lot of stories and rumours and it's getting pretty personal."

Hot tears were beginning to trickle down Kurt's face, he had thought the injuries would be enough this time to let him get back to Dalton and safety but clearly that wasn't the case. His dad reached over and grasped his hand, letting him know that however bad it got Burt wasn't going anywhere.

"As you are still legally a minor," the officer continued, "your dad will be present for the questioning. I need to remind you now that you are being interviewed as a witness, you are not under arrest and you are free to leave at any time. However anything you do say can and may be used in the court of law. Do you understand?"

A brief nod of the head was sufficient for the officer to carry on. "We would like you and your dad to come with us in the police car, your step-mother will drive the family car back to Lima." The officer looked over at Kurt with compassion, he had a son of 14 and couldn't imagine what this family were going through. "I understand you board here, do you need to pick up anything for tonight, I don't think we'll be finished until quite late."

"No, I have everything I need at home."

"Right let's get going then."

As the group stood to leave the dean stood next to Kurt and smiled, gently patting him on the shoulder, "No one should have to deal with this Kurt, let alone at your age. Be strong and remember you have good friends here who will do all they can to support you." Kurt tried to smile in reply but his mouth just twisted in a weird grimace. "Oh and Kurt, I don't expect to see you back until lunchtime tomorrow, even dinner. I will let your teachers know you will be absent."

…..

…..

Mrs Daniels eventually gave up trying to reign the boys in, dismissing them five minutes early with a stern warning not to disturb other classes. As soon as she walked out of the room everyone immediately turned towards Blaine and started firing off questions.

"Has Kurt been arrested?

"Is this to do with the bruise on his face? Was he in a fight?"

"Did he have a car accident? I hope he wasn't driving after drinking."

As the questions continued and got increasingly ridiculous Blaine climbed on his chair and waited for everyone to be quiet.

"Look, I don't know why the police were here nor do I know what they want to speak to Kurt about. As far as I know he hasn't broken any laws but as you can all clearly see something has happened. I know I'm Kurt's boyfriend but he's only been back one day and we have spent that time in class so I'm sorry to disappoint you all but I don't have any juicy gossip."

At that he jumped off his chair and began to pack his bag. He knocked his pen on the floor and as he bent down to retrieve it he noticed something flashing, Kurt's mobile. Realising it must have fallen out of Kurt's bag as he picked it up Blaine also recognised that his prime mode of contact with Kurt was in his hand and not his boyfriends. Quickly jumping up on his chair again he shouted "Oh and I've got Kurt's mobile here, he dropped it, so you can all stop trying to contact him."

Walking from the room with Wes on one side and David on the other Blaine just made it into the bathroom stall before throwing up. His nerves were shot, he didn't know how much more of this drama he could take but at the same time if this was how he was feeling then how on earth was Kurt coping.

The two Warblers took him over to a side sitting room to let him regain control. Wes brought him some water and the three sat in silence trying to take it all in. After a few moments Blaine pulled out his own mobile and send Finn a text:

Please let Kurt know I've got his mobile, he left it in music. Blaine.

"There," said Blaine bluntly, "it's the only useful thing I can do right now but at least he won't panic about his phone!" and with that he broke down completely. David pulled him into an embrace and Wes rubbed his back, it was all they could do to help and the three felt completely useless.

…..

Kurt lay on his back staring up at his bedroom ceiling, tears running freely down his cheeks. The police interview hadn't been as bad as he feared and he actually felt better having been calm enough to give a full account of the afternoon events. He was surprised by how bad he felt for Karowsky and Azimo, sure they had made his life hell but he was pretty sure neither of them would ever have pulled a knife on him. They were bullies but not idiots. They knew the limits you could push someone to without ending up in trouble with the police. This new guy though was something else, he had a wild look in his eye and a sneer that scared Kurt more than anything the other two had ever said or done.

As he closed his eyes he couldn't stop his mind wandering back to last Saturday.

He had arranged to meet Mercedes and Tina at the Lima Bean and the three of them had a great time catching up. Of course Kurt was grilled continually on his relationship with Blaine but it had been really nice to talk about it freely without being judged or teased in the way only boys know how. He heard all the gossip from Glee Club and the current state of Finn and Rachel's relationship, always good to know properly what was going on.

Just before 5 the three friends left and walked to the car park, Tina was giving Mercedes a lift home so Kurt waved them off and as he turned to get in his car he realised that he had left his jacket inside. He retrieved it and was just about to open the car door when he felt strong arms grab him and pull him behind the dustbins. He immediately recognised Karowsky and Azimo but they clearly had a new friend.

"Look the fairy's back in town," said Azimo with a grin.

"Where are your preppy friends today, all alone?" continued Karowsky, "don't worry we'll keep you company."

"As long as we don't catch anything," said the new guy.

"Oh don't worry about this fairy," laughed Azimo, "he doesn't fight back, and even if he did what can he do." With that Kurt felt all the air leave his body as Azimo kicked him hard in the stomach.

He was trapped, he tried to scream but Karowsky grabbed his hair and yanked his head back whispering right in his ear, "Don't even try it princess." Time stood still, it could have been a few minutes or a few hours, Kurt didn't know or care, the three of them taunted him while kicks and hits continued to rain down on his body. He was curled up into a tiny ball, trying to protect himself but the pain in his chest told him he probably had at least badly bruised ribs and his back and legs were going to be covered in bruises again.

Suddenly it all stopped and he cracked open one eye to see Karowsky and Azimo yelling at the new guy not to be stupid and that was enough. His eyes barely registered a flash of silver before a red hot pain ripped up his arm and he screamed louder than he thought possible. He was sort of aware of raised voices, running feet, chaos around him but he couldn't be sure as his world was engulfed by a black fog.

…

Cracking his eye lids slightly Kurt was blinded by light, he tried to lift his arm to cover his eyes and screamed, red hot pokers shot up and down from his fingers to elbow. He felt a strong hand pull his hand down gently and a gruff voice said, "Thank god you're awake, you've had us so worried." As he turned his head slightly he saw his dad hunched up on the chair, tear marks drying on his face.

"What happened?" Kurt croaked. Burt rose and got a glass of water, after helping Kurt take a drink a nurse bustled in to assess his condition and Burt's only reply was, "you got hurt."

After twenty minutes the doctor and nurse left the room again and Kurt was alone with his father. Burt explained he had been found at the back of the Lima Bean and that three of the McKinley jocks were being held on suspicion of GBH. The doctor had already talked through his injuries with him and explained that as he had been unconscious, as a result of the head trauma he would remain in hospital until Sunday afternoon so they could monitor him.

Kurt tried to digest all the information but the doctor told him he needed rest and gave him a couple of pain killers. He tried to tell his dad to contact Blaine but the world went black again as the pills kicked in before he had a chance to say anything.

….

In the end Kurt did not get back to Dalton until Wednesday evening. He had been forced to go and see the doctor again as his ribs were causing him so much pain and she had increased the dose on his pain medication. She had also taken more x-rays which confirmed that three ribs were cracked, rather than just one. His parents had been even more reluctant to let him back with this new news but Kurt was an expert at playing his dad and eventually Burt had consented, on the strict basis he wore his sling and didn't exert himself.

Burt drove Kurt back this time, he wasn't happy about it but there was no way his son was up to driving plus it had given him a chance to talk in the car. By the time they got to Dalton Kurt was fed up being lectured on wearing his sling, not discussing the finer details of the case (on police advice) and how he needed to relax and not stress himself out. Agreeing with his dad for the millionth time (or so it felt) Kurt gave him a hug and his dad gently hugged him back with one final warning about taking care of himself and Kurt began to walk to his dorm.

The closer he got the more his nerves kicked in. He had used Finn's phone to text Blaine last night to say he wouldn't be back and again this afternoon to say he would return in the evening but hadn't had any reply, or at least none that Finn was sharing (no, Kurt was sure that Finn would have told him!) There was less than an hour before curfew and Kurt seriously considered going for a walk round the grounds until that time, at least then he wouldn't have to talk to Blaine. All day he had lain around the house (on Carole's instructions to rest) and kept seeing the haunted look in Blaine's eyes as he left the music class. He hated himself for causing his wonderful boyfriend so much pain – was he even still his boyfriend, maybe Blaine thought Kurt had done something dreadful and wouldn't want anything to do with him. 'No', thought Kurt, 'calm down and speak with Blaine, what's the worst that could happen' and then he really wished he had never asked that question!

As he entered the building he could hear shouting and cheers coming from the common room, judging by the escaped balloons it was clearly someone's birthday, he had a feeling it might be Jack's 16th, he could remember signing a card last week. At least the party meant everyone was in the one place and he didn't meet anyone going up the stairs. He figured Blaine would be there too so he went to his own room first to drop off his bag and write a quick note.

I'm back. Can you drop off my phone if you have a moment? X

Maybe the kiss was too much but then again maybe it needed more kisses – aarrgghhh, why does this all have to be so complicated, he thought.

He slipped out and walked along to Blaine's room to stick the note on his door when he heard gentle strumming. Tentatively he knocked on the door and a second later his boyfriend opened the door, he looked absolutely exhausted with dark rings under his eyes. It took less than a second for a grin to appear on his face though.

"You're back, I've been so worried," he reached out to grab Kurt's hand then changed his mind.

"Can I come in?" Kurt asked quietly. As Blaine moved aside to let him in the room he asked, "Why are you not down at the party with everyone else?"

"I've not been the best company the last few days. I didn't really feel very sociable." Hearing this Kurt could feel tears running down his cheeks as he sat down on the bed.

"I'm so sorry Blaine, I never meant any of this to happen. This is all my fault, if I wasn't such an idiot. I hate to see you so upset…"Kurt began to ramble, tears now streaming down his face.

Blaine knelt down in front of him, and took his hand, gently rubbing circles round it, "Ssshhh, don't apologise for anything. Yes I've been really worried about you but I'm allowed to be," he put a finger gently over Kurt's lip as the taller boy tried to speak. "I love you so much Kurt and it has been killing me not knowing if you are alright. Well clearly you are not alright," he said with a smirk, "but the bruise looks a lot better than it did on Monday. More than anything though I've not been able to sit and talk to you for almost a week, the longest we've not spoken before is about 12 hours! I just feel like you've been through something awful and I haven't been there for you and it makes me a really terrible boyfriend."

Now it was Kurt's turn to put his finger on Blaine's lips to silence him. "You have been the most amazingly, wonderful and patient boyfriend I could wish for. I know I really upset you on Monday night by pulling away and on Tuesday morning but you were there for me in English and in Music. I saw all the texts you sent me over the weekend that I didn't reply to but there was a good reason. I saw the hurt and worry in your eyes when you saw the bruise and then when I came to music with this stupid sling. You've given me time to work out what to tell you and never put any pressure on me and I love you for that, more than I can possibly say. Oh and I love that you found my phone and now can I have it back please!"

Giggling Kurt held out his hand and as Blaine gave him back his beloved phone Kurt leaned gently forward and kissed him. As Blaine reciprocated the pain in his ribs made him hiss loudly and Blaine jumped back unsure what caused the obvious pain as he had been very careful not to touch Kurt's arm. "Sorry, three cracked ribs," Kurt said gently.

With a sigh, he lay down on the bed, a more comfortable position and gestured to Blaine to lie down too. Scared of causing more pain Blaine sat down on the floor beside the bed but still able to look right into his boyfriend's beautiful blue eyes. He took Kurt's hand gently in his, "You don't have to tell me what happened but it would really help to know what hurts, then I can try to avoid hurting you," he said trying to smile.

"It's not really a bedtime story," Kurt said gently, "and I'm not allowed to go into too much detail in case it ever reaches court but Karowsky, Azimo and some new guy Taylor jumped me at the Lima Bean on Saturday." After an initial glance at the anger in the hazel eyes Kurt turned his head towards the ceiling and told the light fitting allowing Blaine time to manage his emotions. "They dragged me behind the bins and after kicking me repeatedly Taylor pulled a knife. The other two didn't seem to know about it, they freaked out completely but he basically sliced right up my arm before throwing me against the wall which knocked me out."

The two boys sat in silence for few moments before Kurt felt able to look towards Blaine. Silent tears were running down his cheeks but in his eyes were pure anger. Aware of the blue eyes watching him Blaine faced him and opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the right words to say.

"I'm sorry," he eventually whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"What for? You didn't do anything."

"But neither did you," Blaine said sincerely, his eyes locking with Kurts. "You have never done anything to them and they pulled a knife on you, they cracked your ribs and bruised your beautiful skin again. It's so fucking unfair. I hate them, I hate them more than I have ever hated anyone."

Kurt carefully stood up and went over to where his boyfriend was now standing almost jumping trying to control his rage. Reaching forward he took both Blaine's hands and pulled him into an embrace. He held onto the shorter boy as tightly as he could without causing himself too much pain and muttered small calming words into his ear. Only when he felt Blaine's breathing return to an even pattern did Kurt ease his hold before reaching forward to very gently kiss Blaine's lips.

So quietly he was almost whispering Kurt said, "Yes they hurt me but I need you to heal me. It's not going to be easy, there will be more police questions, court dates, more hospital visits and," he said with a grin, "a mountain of homework to catch up on and I need you with me. I'm stronger than they think, that's why they hate me but they are not winning. They are not breaking me and they are not breaking you either. We are in this together," and stepping back from Blaine he looked deep in his eyes, "I hope we are in this together."

"Always."