Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of these characters… if I did, Karofsky wouldn't exist anymore, Jesse wouldn't have been such an asshole (albeit one I believe legitimately fell for Rachel), and there would be a LOT more Blaine.
A/n: So I know this chapter is slightly shorter than my others, but I had something I really wanted to accomplish with this one, and it didn't take 5,000 words to get there. But it's 4,700ish, which is close…
The couch at the Hummel-Hudson home wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep in the world, but Blaine had been so exhausted by the time they got back from the hospital that he hadn't been able to make it up the stairs and into the bed. Not that Carole or Burt had seemed to expect him to; the couch had already been made up into a makeshift bed for him to sleep on, complete with an extra pillow to prop up his broken wrist. So he had fallen asleep there, not really thinking about the fact that Finn would probably be getting up kind of early to play video games or something like that.
Blaine groaned as he blinked a few times, willing his head to stop aching from something as simple as a little light. He hadn't had a concussion in a long time, and he'd forgotten how much it all hurt. The sound of video game gunfire echoed through his skull in an obnoxiously uncomfortable way. "Can you turn that down, please?" he muttered, covering his eyes with his right forearm. The sound almost instantly went down, but it didn't really help with his pounding headache.
"You okay, man? You don't look so hot…" Blaine opened his eyes again and glanced over at the recliner Finn was sitting in as he played Call of Duty.
"Finn, are you blind?" Blaine closed his eyes and smiled slightly at the sound of Kurt's voice. Leave it to the younger boy to point out that his step-brother had missed something so completely obvious to everyone else in the world. He didn't open his eyes again until he felt a soft hand taking his. "Come on, let's get you upstairs before the rest of the Neanderthals arrive. Finn apparently invited all of the New Directions guys over for a Call of Duty marathon without warning anyone in advance." Blaine let Kurt help him to his feet, wincing as he moved.
"What time is it?" Blaine asked. He and Burt had gotten home shortly before dawn, and he didn't remember whether or not anyone had woken him up yet. Of course, given how exhausted Blaine had been (and still felt, if he was being completely honest) it wouldn't be all that difficult to imagine that he had fallen back to sleep without really waking up enough to remember what had happened.
"Almost noon. Carole was going to wake you up to eat breakfast, but every time we said anything to you, you muttered a response and then fell back to sleep so we didn't push it." Blaine nodded slightly. They walked up the stairs slowly, with Blaine leaning slightly on the taller boy as they made their way back up to what was now Blaine's room. He didn't really need Kurt's help, but Blaine liked the fact that the countertenor was so close to him. "What do you want to eat? Carole's planning on making some pizzas for the guys, but I can throw together something else for you if you want."
"I don't really care… I just want to go back to sleep," Blaine muttered. All he really wanted was a pain pill and a place to lay down so that he could go back to sleep. His wrist was starting to ache and he knew that it was only a matter of time before it actually escalated to pain.
"You need to stay awake long enough to eat something so that you can take your pain pills," Kurt reminded him. Blaine closed his eyes as they walked down the hall, thankful that Kurt was helping him. "Hey… stay awake. Pain pills, remember?" Blaine opened his eyes with a sigh. His arm and chest were both aching, and it was probably a good idea for him to stay awake the way Kurt suggested.
"Maybe just a sandwich? I don't want to be a bother…"
"You need something more substantial than a sandwich."
"Sometimes I feel like you get a kick out of acting like my mother," Blaine commented, smiling slightly at Kurt.
"You need someone to make sure you're taking care of yourself. You have to admit you haven't exactly been the best about doing that lately." Blaine sighed, knowing that Kurt was right. He sat down slowly on the bed in his room, wincing slightly. "Sleeping on top of the covers?"
Blaine glanced around him, a little surprised to see that someone had made his bed for him since he'd fallen down the stairs early that morning. "Yeah, I guess I am." Blaine grabbed one of the pillows and positioned it under his broken arm as he lay down. He'd lost the sling somewhere along the way; it was probably back in the living room where he'd been sleeping. He couldn't actually remember taking it off, but at the same time it seemed as though there were quite a few things that Blaine didn't quite remember at the moment. Blaine closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to sleep.
"I'm going to go find something for us to eat other than pizza. Maybe we can go in my room and put on a movie while the guys play downstairs? I brought home some of my movies so we'd have something to watch, just in case."
"'Mkay," Blaine muttered. He drifted in and out while Kurt was gone, unable to keep himself completely awake without something to do. It wasn't until he felt a pair of soft lips pressing against his that Blaine woke up. "Definitely like that kind of wake-up call," Blaine replied, smiling up at Kurt. He didn't really think about the significance of that kiss just yet.
"Come on… I set up a movie for us in my room. It's a little further from the living room, so hopefully we won't have to deal with the obnoxious sound of more gunfire in there."
"Which movie?"
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoneix. I know it's one of your favorites."
"I'll sleep through it anyway," Blaine replied. "Do you know where the pills for my arm are? It's really starting to hurt…"
"There's one in my room with your lunch. Carole figured you would be needing something by now." Blaine let Kurt help him up again, before he followed the younger boy into his room. Somehow he managed to keep the pillow tucked between his arm and his chest the whole way there. He wasn't really thinking about it; it just sort of happened. He moved the pillows on Kurt's bed around, positioning them so that he would have something to lean against while they ate. Blaine sat down on the bed, closing his eyes again. "Hey now… you have to stay awake to eat. And Carole told me to make sure you ate before you took anything, because this stuff might make you sick."
"Because of course they can't make painkillers that won't make you sick if you take them on an empty stomach." Blaine opened his eyes with a sigh, adjusting the pillow under his arm in an attempt to get comfortable. It was a lost cause; without the medication that Kurt had for him, there was no way he was going to get comfortable enough to sleep or anything like that. "I thought the purpose of this cast was to hold my arm still so it wouldn't hurt."
"The purpose of the cast is to keep your arm still so that it will heal. The medicine is for the pain." Blaine shook his head slightly. "It's just a little while longer… as soon as you've eaten something, I'll give you the medicine. Then you can go back to sleep, if you want." Blaine took the bowl Kurt offered him, glancing down at the salad the younger boy had created. It looked good, even though Blaine was fairly sure that he wasn't going to be eating a lot of it. It seemed like no matter how hungry he felt, he always lost his appetite mid-way through his meal.
Blaine picked up his fork, spearing a bit of lettuce and eating it. He didn't even really pay attention to the movie Kurt had chosen until he had forced down roughly half of the food. He suddenly wasn't hungry any more.
"You need to eat more than that." Blaine glanced over at Kurt, who was watching him more closely than he was watching the movie. Blaine sighed, knowing the younger boy was right. "Here… take this now, and then eat some more of your salad." Blaine took the pill from Kurt and popped it into his mouth, chasing it with a sip of water from the glass Kurt offered. "Go ahead… eat."
"Please don't push, Kurt…" Blaine began, closing his eyes and sighing. He opened his eyes again as he felt the soft feeling of Kurt's lips against his cheek. "What…?"
"You kissed me… a few days ago in your dorm room."
"I know…" Blaine began.
"I know you still want there to be more between us… and I want you to know that I still do, too. Even if you aren't ready – even if it takes a while to get to that point."
"You still don't think I'm ready for a relationship."
"I really do care about you, Blaine. It's why I keep bugging you about everything… because I'm worried about you. It's also why I don't want us to rush into this… why we need to go slow." Blaine closed his eyes and let his head gently roll so that it was resting on Kurt's shoulder. "Please just eat a little more… or I could get something else for you…"
"No… it's fine. I'm just not that hungry," Blaine whispered. He was exhausted, and he wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss against Kurt's cheek.
"Okay." Blaine opened his eyes as he felt Kurt take away the remains of his lunch. He smiled slightly as the younger boy gently helped reposition him so that he was reclined against Kurt's chest. "Comfortable?" Blaine nodded, his eyes closing once again, exhausted. It was only a few minutes before the medication fully kicked in and Blaine was fast asleep.
"I'm just worried about letting him go… he's still having headaches, and even though I know that Kurt or Finn will be with him the whole time I still can't help but worry." Blaine stood just outside the kitchen, listening to Burt and Carole talk. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but they were talking about him and Blaine knew that the moment they realized he was there the conversation would end. "I'd just feel better if one of us could go with him."
"I know, Burt. But they're starting to say things about how much time I've missed at work…" Blaine bit down on his bottom lip. It was his fault that Carole was getting into trouble at work; if he hadn't called Kurt, it never would have been Burt and Carole's problem. They probably wouldn't have even known about his mother dying if he hadn't picked Kurt's number instead of all the other numbers in his phone. Then again, the other people Blaine had considered calling wouldn't have really been much help considering the fact that they had no idea what it was like to lose a parent.
"It's been less than three weeks. Legally they have to give you twelve… we're his guardians, and that makes him our child for legal purposes. They can't do anything to you for taking a few weeks off to take care of him. Do not let them bully you." Blaine closed his eyes; he hated the thought that he was causing problems for Kurt and Finn's parents.
"I don't want to cause problems for anyone… you know how they can be at work."
"We'll finish this discussion later… the boys should be down any minute. We're not going to mention this to any of them, and especially not to Blaine. I'm not going to give him another excuse to try and rush to get back to school before he's ready." Blaine glanced over at the stairs as Finn came down, a confused look on his face. Blaine held a finger up to his lips, signaling for the football player to be quiet. He looked even more confused at Blaine's actions. Blaine turned and walked into the kitchen, pretending to adjust the sling that held his broken arm.
"Morning, sweetheart… did you sleep well?" Blaine shrugged in response to Carole's question.
"The pain pills still knock me out…" Blaine began. He smiled slightly as Carole put a hand on his shoulder.
"You need the sleep. How's your head feeling?" Blaine turned to look at Burt as he asked the question.
"Better. But it's been almost a week, so it should be getting there."
"Just remember to take it easy today. I know you want to go to the competition, but don't overdo it…" Burt began.
"I won't."
Blaine felt more than a little awkward sitting with the members of New Directions; he didn't really know any of them – at least he didn't remember meeting most of them, thanks to how drunk he'd gotten at Rachel's house party. He was just glad that none of them seemed to really care about that. The only somewhat awkward thing was that Brittany kept making comments about dolphins and Finn couldn't keep himself from laughing about it long enough to explain.
But then the competition had started, and all of the conversations he'd heard bits and pieces of ended quickly. Aural Intensity was good, but Blaine had a feeling that they weren't going to win this one; Sue Sylvester had made the mistake of choosing songs based on the personality of the judges instead of the abilities of her students. But their songs were done quickly, and after a short break it was time for the Warblers to perform.
Blaine felt strange, not knowing what his teammates were going to do. He'd asked Kurt not to talk about it in front of him, mostly because he knew that it would only make him miss the Warblers more than he already did. And while he wasn't gone forever – Blaine would be back performing with the group as soon as he was back at school, no matter how this competition turned out – it was still difficult. So Blaine resigned himself to sitting on the sidelines, part of what was going on as a spectator rather than a participant.
"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road,
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go,
So make the best of this test and don't ask why
It's not a question but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,
I hope you had the time of your life."
Blaine smiled up at his fellow Warblers from the audience. The song was perfect; Blaine could tell that they had put a lot of work into the arrangement because there was so much music without lyrics in the piece. Kurt had shown Blaine the video that he'd gotten the idea from the day before, and the Warblers were doing a good job of following the lead of the Broadway cast.
"So take the photographs and still frames in your mind,
Hand it on a shelf in good health and good time,
Tattoo the memories and dead skin on trial,
For what it's worth it was worth all the while
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,
I hope you had the time of your life."
Musical interludes had always been difficult for the Warblers; they weren't exactly made for acapella choirs, after all. But they were doing really well making it work, even if they weren't actually using words.
"It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,
I hope you had the time of your life.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,
I hope you had the time of your life."
The song had worked out pretty much perfectly; Blaine wouldn't have been any happier with the performance unless he had been on stage with his friends and classmates. Performing was one of the few things that had never failed to make Blaine happy, and even though he knew why he wasn't up there Blaine couldn't help but be sad about it.
"That was like… really good." Blaine shook his head at Finn's comment, smirking at Finn's comment and the looks that the rest of New Directions gave the football player.
"We can do better. They were missing their lead soloist, and although they compensated well we're still a stronger choir." Blaine closed his eyes at the sound of Rachel's overly confident voice. The sad part was, he knew that she was right. He'd heard Kurt's old choir sing quite a bit and Blaine knew that the Warblers had to be on their A game to even stand a chance. They could command an audience at Dalton, but competition was a completely different ballgame.
"Come on, guys… we need to go warm up." Blaine felt Finn touch his shoulder for a moment.
"I'll be fine… it's what, five minutes before Kurt and the guys get out here?" Blaine asked. "Good luck, guys."
Blaine bit down on his bottom lip briefly as he waited for Kurt and the other Warblers to come out from the back to join him in the theatre. He glanced up as he saw someone walking down the aisle towards him, completely skipping all of the empty seats.
"Sorry… these seats are taken…" he began, but the woman didn't listen as she sat down right next to him.
"I'm not looking to stay. You're Blaine Anderson, aren't you?" There was something about the woman's face that was familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen her before other than the few seconds she had been standing when the judges had been introduced at the beginning of the competition. Not that Blaine actually remembered her name.
"Yes… how did you…"
"What happened to your arm? They aren't mistreating you, are they?" Blaine raised an eyebrow, confused about where this conversation was headed.
"The Hummels are being great… I'm sorry, who are you? I don't think we've actually met…"
"Just finish answering my questions… I only have a minute. What happened to your arm?" Blaine shook his head, still confused.
"I was sleepwalking… fell down the stairs…" Blaine watched as the woman stood up and started to walk away. "Wait… who are you?" The woman ignored Blaine's question, leaving him even more confused than he had been when she had first walked up to him. Blaine stared straight forward for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. Finally he caught a glance of the woman sitting across the room again, cell phone in hand.
Blaine stood up and started to walk towards the woman, until he felt a hand on his chest. "Dude, where are you going?" Blaine glanced to the side, surprised to see Wes's worried face standing there next to him.
"Wes, who did they say that female judge was? The older one, in the suit."
"Senator Jeanette Anderson. Why?" Blaine felt his stomach tie itself into a knot as his jaw dropped slightly. "Blaine?"
"I… I think that's my…" Blaine began. He stopped short when he saw a familiar face sitting right behind the woman. "Th-that's my dad. And my stepmom."
"What are you talking about?" Blaine felt Kurt put a hand on his shoulder as Wes asked the question.
"Blaine? Are you okay?" Blaine turned towards Kurt, knowing that the boy had seen his father before as well. He reached up with his good hand and gently turned Kurt's face in the right direction. "Oh."
"You see him too."
"Who? What the hell are you two talking about?" Wes asked.
"Blaine's dad…" Kurt began.
"But you don't know your dad, Blaine. You've never even met him."
"He came by the house, right after my mom died. He spoke to Kurt's dad, and then he left… I caught a glimpse of him through the window. It's the only time I've ever seen him, but I know that face…" Blaine started towards the opposite side of the room, just as the lights flickered.
"It's too late to go over there now. Just sit down with us, we'll go talk to him after McKinley performs," Kurt commented, gently pushing him towards their seats. Blaine let him, knowing that it was pointless to argue with Kurt about anything. Kurt was right, anyway; it was too late to do anything at the moment.
Blaine couldn't pay attention to the McKinley glee club while they performed. His mind kept being drawn back to the strange conversation with his stepmother and the fact that she and the one person he had been waiting his entire life to meet were sitting on the other side of the room. Blaine didn't care about his mother's arrangement with the Andersons or the fact that he wasn't supposed to meet them until he was eighteen. He had never agreed to that arrangement, and he was going to make sure that his father didn't leave that room until they had met.
The two songs New Directions performed passed quickly for Blaine; he had a million other things on his mind, and before he knew it the judges had left to deliberate and decide who would win the competition. Blaine knew that if he waited, the Senator would find some way to get his father out of there before he had a chance to speak with him; from what Blaine had overheard, it was all her fault that Blaine didn't have a relationship with his father.
"Where are you going?" Blaine hadn't even realized that he'd stood up until Kurt said something.
"To talk to him." Blaine felt Kurt grab his shoulder, stopping him.
"Are you sure about this? Does he even know what you look like?"
"His wife just came up and started questioning me about my arm and whether or not your family was treating me alright… I'm pretty sure that means my mom has been sending them school pictures on a regular basis…" Blaine began.
"Do you really want to do this? I thought your parents had some kind of agreement," Wes commented.
"I don't care about any arrangement they made. They didn't consult me, so why should I have to put up with it?"
"Your parents had a reason…"
"Well then he can explain to me what that reason is. Because I sure as hell don't understand what would possess them to decide that they should keep me away from my father." Blaine pulled away from Kurt as he spoke, starting over towards the man.
Blaine took a deep breath before he spoke, not exactly sure of what he should say. "C-can I talk to you?"
The look on the man's face when he saw Blaine standing there was hardly what Blaine had expected. He'd assumed that his father knew he was at the competition, but that didn't seem to be the case. "Blaine…" Blaine watched as the man stood up, straightening his suit jacket as he did so. "Blaine, I…"
"Please don't apologize to me. Don't say you're sorry for my loss or any of that bullshit. I just want to know why."
"Why what?" The look of confusion on the older man's face made Blaine sigh.
"Why did you refuse to meet me? Why weren't we supposed to meet until I was eighteen?" The man looked uncomfortable, but Blaine wasn't about to give up. Not until he had the answers he was looking for. So he stood there, staring at the man with his good hand tucked in the pocket of his jeans.
"It's complicated, son…"
"Don't call me that. You have no right to use that word with me…"
"Can we talk about this somewhere a little more private?" Blaine nodded, letting the man lead him out into the lobby and over to a couch in a corner. The two of them sat down, and it was quiet for a moment before either of them spoke. "Blaine, there are a lot of things about what happened between your mother and I that are hard to explain. At this point I can't even remember how we got started."
"You don't have to start at the beginning. I know about the affair and all of that. It's the reasoning behind the deal you made with my mother that confuses me. She always said she would explain when I was older."
"My wife found out about the affair not long after you were born… she was pregnant with our third son at the time, and she was furious with me. You have to understand that I love my wife very much. I loved your mother, too. But I had to make a decision, Blaine, and I chose to stay with my family." Blaine looked down at his cast, picking at the white part with his thumbnail.
"We weren't your family too?"
"I had a wife and three beautiful children at the time – a fourth one on the way. My wife promised that we would take care of you and your mother. And we have, and we plan to make sure that you have everything you need until you're finished with school."
"But I can't be part of your life. Even though you're my father, the one person that I've wanted to have a relationship with my entire life."
"You have no idea the impact that this kind of scandal could have on my wife's political career, Blaine."
"And that's more important than your son?"
"I have five sons, Blaine."
"But you can only claim four of them. You can't claim that I'm your son."
"It's bad timing, Blaine. In a little more than a year, when you're eighteen, Jeanette is willing to let you at least visit. We haven't even told our children about you yet… you can't expect us to just spring this on them without any warning." Blaine glanced over at the man as the lights in the lobby flickered, signaling that the winners were about to be announced.
"What makes it any less hurtful to her political career if you wait until I'm eighteen? You've still kept it a secret for years…" Blaine began.
"It was my wife's decision. I don't understand the significance of that date any more than you do, nor do I understand her reasoning for keeping you away from our children for as long as she has. But I know my wife, Blaine, and she has a good reason for all of this." Blaine glanced up, realizing that the lobby had emptied completely while they were talking. He suddenly didn't even care that he was missing finding out whether Kurt or his step-brother would be going to New York for Nationals. "I do want to know you, Blaine. If it had been my choice, I never would have abandoned you."
Blaine stood up, turning around to face his father. "It was your choice. You made it sixteen years ago, when you chose one of your families over the other." Blaine watched as the man shook his head.
"I know you're upset right now, Blaine. But I do want to be a part of your life, especially now that we've actually gotten a chance to meet." Blaine watched as the man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a business card. 'This has my cell and work numbers on it. I want you to call me… any time, day or night. I'm going to make sure my secretary knows to put your calls through."
"I don't want to be put through…"
"It's the best I can do, Blaine. I promise you, once you turn eighteen things will change."
"Why should I believe anything you promise me?"