"Will you quit fidgeting? You're driving me crazy." Finn's exasperated comment managed to get the other boy to stop wriggling in his passenger side seat for all of five seconds. Then he started tapping his feet against the floor board and drumming his fingers against the window. "Kurt! What are you so nervous about?"

Kurt huffed and dropped his hands into his lap, folding them together and making a concerted effort to be still. "Sorry. I'm just excited, I guess. It's been so long since I've seen them."

Finn smiled at him. "It's only been a month."

"Only a month," Kurt repeated sarcastically. "You wouldn't be so blasé about it if our positions were reversed. I text and talk sometimes with Mercedes and Rachel, but seeing Mercedes this morning made me realize how much I've really missed everybody. And it's not like summer vacation, you know, where we all have the expectation of being back in school together in a couple of months. I walked out on all of you, Finn. What if the others haven't forgiven me for that?"

Kurt's fingers had begun twisting in his lap and Finn felt a pang of pity for him. He really was worried about this. Somehow, in Finn's mind, the moment Kurt crossed back over the city line into Lima he became one of their own again and no longer a part of Dalton Academy. Obviously, for Kurt it was not quite that easy.

Turning the truck left as he came to the next street that would lead them to Tina's house, Finn shook his head. "They didn't forgive you, Kurt." The other boy looked stricken until he added, "They were never mad at you to begin with. I mean, sure Puck and Santana did a lot of grumbling about how we could have protected you if you'd let us, but that's just because they were bummed out about not noticing how bad things had gotten for you in the first place. They get it now, though. I get it."

"You?"

Finn shifted in his seat. "Yeah, I was kind of pissed that you and Mom and Burt shut me out of the discussion when you decided to transfer, like I wasn't part of the family," he admitted, "but Mom sat me down and explained that it wasn't really your decision either. You were in danger and they took action to protect you, same as the glee club wanted to. It sucks that I didn't say that to you before you left, or talk to you more after you were gone. I'm really sorry for that, Kurt."

A small sniffle and a tight smile gave Kurt away, even though he managed to keep his eyes from tearing up. "It's okay. I didn't know what to say anyway. It all happened so fast and I was so relieved to escape, and to have somebody else take charge that I didn't fight it."

"You were really scared, huh?"

He nodded. "Terrified. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I was jumping at every shadow and loud noise; it was awful." Kurt ducked his head, looking very much ashamed. "I let Karofsky turn me into exactly the kind of timid little coward I've always despised."

"You are not a coward," Finn told him firmly. "Remember what you told me a long time ago about how my dad had gone into battle but he hadn't gone empty-handed? You didn't lose your courage, Kurt, you just had your weapon taken away and needed somebody else to stand in your place and fight for you until you could get it back."

Kurt raised one eyebrow. "That's quite an analogy. I'm impressed. What's my weapon, though?"

"Same as mine. Your voice. I don't know what Karofsky did, exactly, but he made you too afraid to speak up. Afraid to tell anyone what you were going through, including the people who care the most about you. That had to suck."

A shocked expression had stolen over Kurt's delicate features. "Yeah," he said faintly. "It did."

"So why should anyone be mad at you? Even the best soldier has to retreat and regroup sometimes. We get that."

Finally, a true smile lit Kurt's face. "Sometimes I forget why you're the leader of the glee club and the football team, and then you remind me with just a few words."

Sure that had to be a good thing, he grinned back. "Feel better now?"

"Thanks, Finn."

He changed the subject. "Those brownies you made this afternoon were awesome. Can I have one to tide me over until we get to Tina's?"

"No," Kurt said, his tone allowing for no argument. "We're only about ten minutes away. You can wait that long. Besides, you already ate five of them before I could even get them into the basket!"

"But they're yummy," he explained plaintively.

Kurt chuckled. "I'm glad you like them. You're still not getting any."

"Bet that's not what you'd say to Blaine," Finn teased, slipping his innuendo in so quickly that even he was a bit startled by it.

The expression on Kurt's face was priceless. He somehow managed to go pale and blush like a beet at the same time.

"What do you-? We haven't- We're not- I don't-" After the fourth false start, he gave up and thumped the back of his head petulantly against the passenger seat, glaring at Finn so darkly that the taller boy started laughing again. "That's not funny."

"Yeah, it is!" he countered. "So you guys really are a little more than friends, huh? I thought you might be just because of the way you talk about him."

Kurt looked a bit nervous. "How do I talk about him?"

"I dunno, just . . . different. You talk about the other guys at Dalton the way I do the football team. You know? Like, the guy is cool and I work well with him and all, but we're not really close. When you talk about Blaine you go all perky."

A pained expression came over Kurt's face. "Perky? Seriously?"

"Totally," he laughed.

"Well, we . . . we're friends," he hedged. "Good friends."

Finn could not resist teasing him some more. "Well, we're friends, too and you don't act that way with me." He suddenly grimaced, realizing what he was saying. "I mean, not anymore."

Kurt groaned and hid his face in his hands. "Don't remind me."

"It's cool, man. We're past that now," Finn reminded him, adding, "Right?"

"Long past," he agreed, finally looking up again. He sighed, smoothing his hair out of reflex. "It really shows that badly with Blaine? Mercedes was grilling me about him this morning, too."

Finn halted their conversation to make a quick right, then left turn, double-checking street signs as he went. He had not been to Tina's house before and the neighborhood was heavily populated and easy to get lost in after dark. "Am I going the right way? I thought this was supposed to be Monroe Avenue."

"Monroe is three more blocks up, then you take another left," Kurt advised. "I told you that you should have let me drive."

"I've got it," he said, clutching the steering wheel as if Kurt was somehow going to seize control away from him.

It was rare for Kurt to let anyone drive his "baby" but he had relinquished the keys with little argument when Finn had offered to do the driving tonight. He was still a bit tired after the long drive in from Westerville yesterday, followed by his decorating frenzy and a marathon shopping trip with Mercedes this morning.

Finn appreciated the sign of trust that Kurt was showing him and had vowed to treat the beautiful SUV with all the loving care she deserved. "About you liking that Warbler dude," he continued. "Yeah, man. I'm sorry, but it totally shows."

Kurt sighed. "To everybody but him. Maybe I'm just doomed to crush on guys who aren't interested in me."

"Why isn't he? I mean, I thought he was gay. Mercedes said he was."

The other boy's eye-roll was enough to clearly express his opinion of that question. "He is gay, but all that means is that I'm equipped with the right parts. It doesn't automatically mean he wants to tap them. You don't want to get with every girl you meet, just because they're girls, do you?"

"No," he admitted, "but some guys do. I thought maybe Blaine was like Puck, only for dudes."

Kurt's face was caught somewhere between deep insult and incredulous humor. "Blaine could not be less like Noah Puckerman if he tried. He's a gentleman, in every sense of the word. He has beautiful, old-fashioned manners and if he does flirt a little, I think that's just his way of trying to make me feel comfortable in a new environment. I'm sure if he was interested in me, he would have said something."

"Unless he's waiting for you to say something," Finn pointed out reasonably. "Just because he's a gentleman doesn't mean he thinks of you as a lady, or that you have to act like one. You have nice manners too, but prim and proper isn't really your thing. Why don't you just hit on him? He knows you've been through a lot of crap this year, so maybe he thinks he needs to stand back and wait until you're ready."

Kurt was staring at him strangely. "What the hell was in those brownies? I swear, it's like you got a little bit wiser with every one you ate."

Finn shot him a proud grin. "That mean you're going to make a move?"

The blush rose up in Kurt's cheeks again. "You really think I should?"

"Sure! You're a good guy, Kurt, and smart and nice and clean and all. Why wouldn't a dude go for you? You know, if he was gay."

He made a face. "Clean?"

Finn shrugged. "Yeah, you know, you always smell nice and brush your teeth and stuff." Seeing that Kurt did not exactly look flattered by this, he made an impatient gesture with his right hand. "Well, what do you want me to say? I can't exactly tell you that you're cute. I mean, you kind of are but you're a dude, and you're my brother, and that's just weird."

A bark of laughter burst out of Kurt's mouth, which he quickly covered with one hand. "I'm sorry," he said, eyes sparkling. "Thank you, Finn. That's very sweet . . . I think. As for Blaine, I'll consider it. Maybe three weeks away from him will give me enough time to work up the nerve to actually do something."

"Cool," he said, beaming with satisfaction over his awesome matchmaking skills. Craning his neck to see the nearest street sign, he asked, "Is it right or left here?"

"Right," Kurt told him. "Just go six blocks straight. The street dead ends and Tina's house is the last one on the left when you reach the end."

As they moved along the quiet street, admiring a few houses that had put up outdoor lights, Finn said, "Ours is better."

"I think so, too."

"We make a pretty awesome team."

Glancing at Finn, he smiled. "Yes, we do."

Nothing more was said until the boys had pulled up in front of Tina's large home, slotting into a space between Mercedes little red Honda and Puck's beat-up old Chevy pickup. They quickly jumped out of the car and gathered their things from the back of the SUV. Brownies, a huge 2-gallon picnic jug filled with lemonade that Finn's mom had made for him, two wrapped presents for the gift exchange (Kurt had refused to show him what he had picked out for Sam), a backpack for Finn and a small suitcase for Kurt and two sleeping bags. Kurt had also packed his favorite pillow. They were quite a sight, juggling all of their possessions up the stone walkway to the front door, where Finn managed to push the doorbell with his knuckle.

Tina opened the door almost immediately, her face lighting up at the sight of Kurt. "You came!" she said, launching herself at him for a hug, in spite of how full his hands were.

Kurt dropped his sleeping bag and suitcase, juggling the pillow, brownies and present as he managed to give her a one armed hug in return. "Hi, Tina, thank you for inviting me!"

"Hi, Tina," Finn said, grinning at her enthusiasm.

He was not at all put out to be ignored, in fact he had expected it, but Tina laughed and hugged him too. "Sorry, Finn. Come on in, you guys! Everybody is here except for Lauren, Rachel and Sam."

As if called by the mention of them, a swarm of teenagers suddenly appeared and threw themselves at Kurt, hugging him and pounding his back. One brave soul even dared to ruffle his hair when they could not reach anything else. All of the boys' burdens were spirited away as if by magic and Finn found himself pulled into the throng along with his brother.

"Don't close the door!" Rachel's voice called just as Tina started to shut it. She reopened it and pulled their tiny diva into the greeting frenzy. Rachel laughed and hugged Kurt around the neck, then managed to squeeze Finn around the ribs before he could move away. He stiffened and stepped back, trying not to feel bad about the disappointment on her face.

Everyone moved into the living room, babbling and laughing as they went. Tina's parents had vacated the premises, allowing their daughter to move all of the furniture back to make room for an assortment of airbeds, sleeping bags, beanbags and blankets. Luckily it was a very large house with a lot of floor space. The only person who would not be using the floor to sleep on was Artie and a couch had already been made up for him that would allow him to shift in and out of his wheelchair easily.

A large Christmas tree dominated one corner of the room and a variety of small gifts had been lined up before it. As instructed, Finn and Kurt had written the name of their gift recipients on the tags with no mention of who the givers were. Guessing would be part of the fun!

The final two teens arrived within the next fifteen minutes, Sam giving Kurt a cordial fist-bump, while Lauren simply grunted a greeting at everyone in general and offered a large barrel of multi-flavored popcorn to all takers.

The offer of food was all it took to get them started. Plates, bags, bowls, baskets and microwave dishes full of snacks were placed on a folding table in the middle of the room. Tina's mother had left a large tray of hot buffalo wings and soon everyone had grabbed a paper plate and a place to sit and was digging in. Finn's lemonade was well received, he being the only person who had decided to bring a beverage instead of food, and plastic cups also made the rounds.

Kurt was the center of attention, pelted with questions from everyone about his new life at Dalton Academy and how it felt to be back home, but he asked as many questions as he answered, hungry to catch up on the lives of his friends. As Finn had predicted, nobody held his departure against him and Kurt quickly relaxed. Soon, it felt almost as though he had never left.

"These brownies are freaking amazing," Artie said, sinking his teeth blissfully into a moist, lightly frosted square. "What kind of mix did you use?"

"These didn't come out of a box," Kurt said, a trifle insulted. "It's my mom's old recipe. I always make them at Christmastime."

Puck, who was sitting closest to him, flung an arm around his shoulders. "Guess who just became my new best bud for the holidays. Dude, if we combined your brownie recipe with my special cupcake recipe, we could own this town. Or maybe you could give a batch to those stiffs at Dumbass Academy and loosen them up a little."

Everyone laughed, though Kurt looked a bit horrified by the idea of feeding his new classmates pot brownies. "They're not stiffs. And it's Dalton."

"Whatever," he scoffed, munching another brownie. Luckily, Kurt had anticipated his greedy friends and baked three batches. "Looked like stiffs to me. Other than that hammy lead singer, they looked like a bunch of robots at Sectionals. Even you and I know you've got some moves."

"Blaine isn't a ham," Kurt defended stiffly.

Santana laughed. "Oh, please." She put on a bright show-face and mocked Blaine's exaggerated brow raises and facial contortions. "He mugs worse than Rachel."

"Hey!" she objected. "It's important to connect with the audience, and facial expression is a big part of that. I thought Kurt's friend did very well, and so did he. Especially when he only had a week to get to know their routines."

Kurt tossed his head. "Exactly. Thank you, Rachel."

Mercedes laughed and threw the celery stalk she had just plucked off Sam's veggie tray at them. "Okay, just knock that off right now. Seeing the two of you act all buddy-buddy is seriously weirding me out. What are you, like, Stepford Kurt now?"

"No," he objected, "I've just learned to pick my battles and Rachel and I have discovered that we have a few things in common now that we're not in direct competition any more."

Finn squirmed at those words. He had been planning to ask Kurt's advice about his and Rachel's newly dissolved relationship, trusting his new brother to be on his side, but if he and Rachel were really close now that might not be such a good idea. Kurt would probably feel obligated to be impersonal, or whatever the word was, considering both sides equally.

Interestingly, Mercedes didn't look so happy with their new closeness either, shooting Rachel some pretty evil glances over her plate.

"Is it time for Santa to come yet?" Brittany interjected suddenly, seeming to have no awareness of the topics going on around her. She looked around the room, as though expecting the jolly old fellow to suddenly pop into existence.

Sitting next to her, Artie gently patted her hand. "Santa isn't coming tonight, Brittany. He's busy until Christmas Eve. That's why we brought our own gifts for each other."

"Oh, yeah," she said, brightening. "Let's do that, then."

Everyone else was willing, nodding agreement as they scarfed down the last few bites of their first wave of snacks. There was plenty of food left for seconds (thirds, in Lauren's case) later.

Being closest to the tree, Mike and Tina handed everyone the gift with their name on it. "Who should go first?" Tina asked, once everyone had a package in hand.

"Why don't we let Brittany go first, since it was her idea," Quinn suggested, playing with the fiercely curled green ribbons that bedecked her gift. "Then whoever gave that gift can be next, and so on."

The others agreed that this was a good idea, figuring they could just choose somebody at random if the circle was broken prematurely.

Brittany wasted no time with delicate unwrapping, ripping off the paper with all the vigor of an excited five year old. She pulled out a simple white hair comb, still in its plastic packaging. Her reaction confused everyone when she squealed and threw her arms around Artie, who laughed and said, "I thought you should have one of your own. No guarantees of magic, but you never know."

"Thank you, Artie," she said, kissing him. "I'll put it under my pillow so that the magic can seep into me every night while I sleep."

He grinned and everybody else just shrugged. They'd get the story out of him later. Artie opened his gift, which turned out to be a male Cheerios uniform. He shot a puzzled glance at the three cheerleaders.

"Football season is almost over," Quinn told him with a smirk. "Last year, you joined Glee with Kurt, then this year you followed his footsteps to play football. Now that he's transferred, I know it will only be a matter of time until you try to become a singing Cheerio."

Kurt and all of the girls burst out laughing, while most of the guys threw popcorn and chips at the grinning boy, who held up the uniform shirt and modeled his new look for them.

Around the circle they went, some gifts getting excited responses and some puzzled glances, but all receiving good natured smiles and laughs. Finn blushed scarlet when he received a glittery penis ring with a vibrator inside from Santana. She claimed it was to build "stamina". He tucked the embarrassing toy out of sight in his pocket while the other guys roared with laughter. The girls, plus Kurt, all looked a little embarrassed on his behalf but none of them could help giggling at the look on his face.

Finn had given Puck a classic Chia-Pet, which cracked both boys up for reasons that nobody else understood. (Puck and Finn had once killed all of Carole Hudson's house plants in a single weekend on a giant helpful overwatering spree when they were eight years old and had then tried to replace the ruined greenery with Chia-Pets, hoping she would not notice.)

Rachel received a motivational CD entitled, "Gain Self-Confidence Through Singing!" from Sam, which just about brought the house down with laughter.

Eagerly leaning forward to get a good view of whatever Kurt had chosen for Sam, Finn's brow creased in confusion when he saw what it was. A blond, brightly smiling Malibu Ken doll, which had been taken from his original packaging and placed with his arms and legs lovingly wrapped around a bottle of shampoo, large letters proclaiming it as specially formulated for color treated hair.

"Thanks, Kurt," he said with a roll of his eyes, not even having to guess who had given him the gift.

Kurt put on his most innocent expression and held up his freshly filled plastic cup. "Glad you like it. Would you care for some more lemon-ade, Sam?"

Sam looked immediately to Quinn, who blushed and hid her face in his shoulder as she laughed. "He forced it out of me, I swear!"

A sparkle of triumph filled Kurt's blue eyes as he grinned and held a hand out to Sam, who laughed ruefully and shook it. "It's beginning to make me nervous that you're part of our competition for Regionals," Sam told him.

"As it should," Kurt replied airily, and then burst out laughing, happy to have got confirmation of his suspicions at last.

"I think you're the last one, Kurt," Mercedes commented, noting that everyone else had opened their gifts.

Kurt picked up the package in his lap, a garment box of some kind, judging from the size and shape. "I'm a little scared to open it. By process of elimination, I think this came from Brittany?"

She nodded, happily playing with Sam's new Ken doll, which she had already determined needed to have a sleepover with hers that night. Sam had handed the doll over without comment.

Bravely tearing the paper off in one quick motion, Kurt popped the tape at the sides of the box and opened the lid. He laughed when he saw, "Christmas pajamas!" Sure enough, the light blue pajama set was decorated with pictures from the classic animated 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' television special. "I loved this cartoon when I was little. How did you know?"

"I didn't, but you like clothes," Brittany pointed out, smiling at him, "and Rudolph didn't fit in with the other reindeer until they figured out that he was special and could do things nobody else could. Kind of like you. And Rudolph went away from his friends and made new friends and helped out the misfits. Then he came home again and everybody was happy."

A little startled to hear this rather astute observation coming from Brittany, Finn exchanged a questioning glance with Kurt.

"Hey, Brit," he said after a moment. "Did you try Kurt's brownies?"

"I had four!" she chirped, licking her lips.

He laughed as he looked to his brother. "What did you put in those brownies, Kurt?"

Kurt laughed too. "I wish I knew!"

Much to the delight of his friends, Kurt soon decided he wanted to try on his gift. Mercedes had also received nightwear, a floor length black nightgown with high lace frills at the collar and cuffs that Tina had given her as joke retaliation for saying that one of her recent Goth outfits looked like something her grandmother would wear.

The two best friends grinned at each other and disappeared into separate rooms to change. They emerged almost simultaneously, Kurt in his new flannel PJs and Mercedes in her granny-gown, striking a series of ridiculously vampy poses as they stalked through the living room, making bitchy runway-model faces at each other as they passed their laughing friends.

"You guys were born for this!" Finn told them.

"We were, weren't we?" Kurt agreed, running his hands teasingly down the front of his shirt and winking at Mercedes, which cracked her up and ruined her composure. Kurt laughed and gave her a hug, then decided, "You know, these pajamas are actually really comfortable. I think I'll leave them on tonight."

Mercedes opted to change and everyone else soon followed suit and got into their own nightclothes. They ate, sang and laughed together for hours, only eventually settling into their assorted bedding after Tina's parents came downstairs to pointedly wish everyone a good night around 2am.

The lights went out, but as with any good slumber party, whispers and giggles continued far into the night.

Later on, nobody would regret a moment of the lost sleep.