Chapter 4

Thanks for all the reviews! i wanted to bring in more of ther other character lives and was feeling in a Klaine mood when writing so this features them heavily. Hope this chapter lives up to expectations- enjoy!

While Quinn's couch wasn't the most uncomfortable place he had ever slept Puck still had trouble drifting of and was therefore staring at the ceiling a couple of hours after everyone else had gone to bed.

His thoughts naturally turned to the woman whose house he was staying in. Ever since he had first laid eyes on her he had been attracted to her; at first it had just been physical and then as he had seen how much she cared for her daughter and how well she balanced everything it had become more sincere and he felt himself loving every minute spent in her company so much so that he had even offered to dry up after dinner that evening accompanying her as she washed.

And then there was Beth; the spitting image of her mother only with brunette hair instead. She had instantly taken a liking to him and he was loving his time with her as he and Finn reverted back to their own childhoods while she lived her own.

He turned onto his side restless and desperate to get some sleep seeing as every night he had been there he had spent thinking about the two new people in his life and trying to get comfortable on the couch.

The sound of someone screaming made him bolt upright and on the second scream he was on his feet moving towards Beth's room. Quinn had burst through her own door and had practically vaulted the sofa to get to her daughter.

Finn appeared yawning Rachel grasping his hand both of them looking worried, Blaine was stood opposite them his hair sleep-tousled while Kurt stood behind him the two of them concerned for the little girl.

Puck craned his neck to see Quinn kneeling by her daughter's bed running her hand through her hair to try and calm her, the screaming stopped but the crying began as Beth threw herself into her mother's lap, shaking.

Rachel had moved to stand by Puck by this time and her eyes met Quinn's and she nodded the two of them being able to communicate without having to speak. "Can we do anything?" Kurt whispered winding his arms round Blaine's waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.

"If you don't mind." Rachel whispered. "Beth calms down better if there are more people around, it makes her feel safer."

"This happens often?" Puck stared at her horrified, the look mirrored on the other three males' faces as they moved to sit down.

Rachel nodded sadly as she began to make hot chocolate for them all. "Yeah; she was approached once by some man as she was coming out of school. He tried to get her into his car but several parents managed to stop him and he was arrested. Quinn was running late that day and she's never forgiven herself."

There was a silence that hung in the room engulfing them all before Rachel dropped a spoon on the floor and they all pulled themselves together. Rachel set her tray onto the coffee table as the others reached forward to take a mug.

Rachel joined Finn curling into his side while Blaine was leaning against Kurt's chest as the taller male of the couple leant his back against the arm of the couch. "Thanks." Quinn mouthed at them all appearing holding Beth by the hand tightly.

"Are you alright sweetheart?" Rachel smiled at Beth who had her thumb in her mouth and looked young and vulnerable but she was no longer shaking or crying. She nodded and broke free from her mother and clambered onto Rachel's lap leaning her head against Finn's chest.

Quinn smiled at them both before collapsing in the space next to Puck shaking slightly. He wrapped arm around her pulling her close to him without realising what he was doing. "You alright?" his breath was hot against her ear and she shivered but settled against him.

"I hate that she goes through that." She whispered. "It's not often but it's…" she trailed off and let her head fall against him.

"It's not your fault." Puck reassured her rubbing her arm. Quinn blinked in surprise but them realised that Rachel would have filled them all in while she was calming her daughter.

"I should have been there." Quinn muttered a small smile passing across her face as Rachel began to sing to Beth the girl's eyes drifting close again as she snuggled into Finn and Rachel.

"Nothing actually happened though." Puck dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead. "You're a wonderful mom, don't beat yourself up."

Quinn nodded only half convinced but she was too tired and her own eyes began to close. "We should take them back to bed." Kurt suggested five minutes after the two Fabray's had fallen asleep.

"Yeah." Finn nodded lifting Beth into his arms. "I'll take her into Quinn's room." Puck copied his movements with the older woman as they moved through to her room.

"Puck." He turned about to lower Quinn onto the bed to see Rachel standing in the doorway biting her lip, unsure. "If one of us is here we usually stay with them both after Beth has a nightmare, would you?" She gestured and Puck nodded.

"Of course."

"Thank you." Rachel danced across the room kissed his cheek and then her friend's and goddaughter. She waited for Finn to drop a fatherly kiss on Beth's forehead before the two left. Puck laid Quinn down smiling as Beth subconsciously snuggled into her mother before laying down and wrapping his arms around Quinn pulling the mother and child to him.

And then sleep found him too.

"Puck." He awoke to someone hissing his name and his eyes flew open to see Quinn staring at him amusedly. "I need my arm back."

"Sorry." He withdrew his arm from around her waist. "Where's Beth?"

"Gone to get dressed." Quinn sat up in bed and yawned. "I've got to get her to school."

Puck nodded in understanding and caught her yawn. "Thanks for getting up last night."

"No problem." He replied letting his head fall back on his pillow still tired seeing as he had had little sleep over the past few days. "You needed us and we're here for you."

"Thanks; and for staying here last night." Quinn bit her lip nervously.

"Well Rachel's right; you need someone to take care of you while you take care of Beth." The unspoken issue of her parents hung between them and she knew that he knew what had happened as Rachel had told them all after asking for her permission. "You can't do it all alone."

"Which is when things like…" she added bitterly but Puck sat up in bed and took her hands.

"Don't say that." He snapped gently as she blinked at him in surprise. "It's not your fault; you can't be everywhere; I'm sure everyone tells you this. Quinn you're an amazing mother. I don't know many other people who could raise a child alone with only two close friends living nearby. Things happen but nothing happened to Beth alright. She's fine, more than fine."

Quinn stared at him for so long that he actually blushed which intensified as she leant into kiss his cheek. "Thank you." Her breath was hot against his cheek and her eyes never left his until they were interrupted by a small creature who flung herself onto the bed, dressed.

"We need to leave for school in ten minutes and you're not dressed." She glared at her mother while waving sweetly to Puck who laughed.

Quinn leapt out of bed in a panic. "Give me five minutes, wait I need a shower, have you got…? You need breakfast and lunch."

Puck rolled his eye in her direction. "Relax; I'll supervise breakfast and make sure she has everything while you get ready." Quinn sent him a thankful look before disappearing into her bathroom.

"Breakfast?" Puck swung his legs out of bed and offered his hand to Beth deciding that it would be best not to mention anything that had happened the previous night. "What do you want?"

"Toast please and mommy will have toast too." She answered leaping onto the kitchen table to watch him.

"What about lunch?" He asked his voice muffled through the shirt he had just pulled on to save anyone else the sight of his bare-chest before he could have a shower when Quinn and Beth left for school. She rattled off a list of what she wanted while he frantically gathered food and then started on her sandwich while the toast cooked.

Finn had appeared halfway through Puck's sandwich making and Beth's story of a rabbit and talking flower, muttered a hello before shuffling into the bathroom for a shower. Rachel was still asleep and it was presumed that the other two were as well.

"I'm ready." Quinn appeared dressed in jeans and a white top with a purple cardigan. She accepted the piece of toast Puck handed her, checked with Beth that she had everything while tugging on her boots and then after thanking Puck the two were out the door toast in hand and carrying a variety of bags.

"We're going out for a walk." Kurt yelled to the people dotted over the building. The morning had passed quickly and it was mid-afternoon.

"Do you think you could pick Beth up at 3.30?" Quinn asked poking her head round the door to the shop where the two were standing waiting for a reply.

"Sure." Blaine replied glancing at his watch and rolling his eyes as Finn and Puck, who were managing the shop which was currently empty, throwing a football at each other and ignoring the dirty looks Quinn was giving them.

"Let's go." Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and tugged him out of the door impatiently.

They spent the time they had free wandering around the town Kurt dragging Blaine into various shops before the smaller man put his foot down and set them off at a quick march so they could get to the school on time.

"You see we didn't have to run." Kurt glared at his boyfriend as they stood waiting with other adults waiting for the children. "They're not even out yet."

"Doesn't hurt to be early." Blaine defended himself.

"You're always early." Kurt sighed. "Like freakishly early." Blaine narrowed his eyes at him and then at Kurt's amused face relented and pulled him into a kiss.

"Excuse me." A hard voice made them spring apart and turn to face a tall woman with a cold sneer on her face.

The sound of people arriving home in silence alerted the four remaining adults that something had happened. Finn came round from behind the counter moving immediately to his step-brother who looked near tears.

Rachel and Quinn appeared from the kitchen with Puck behind them irritated looks on the girls' faces as Puck had been bugging them as they worked. Beth ran to her mother immediately who knelt down by her side and wrapped an arm around her.

"What happened?" Rachel asked breaking the silence. Kurt shook his head biting his lip, Blaine was staring at the floor and the others weren't entirely sure that he had heard them.

"There was a woman in the playground being rude to Uncle Kurt and Uncle Blaine." Beth told them her arm curled around her mother tightly having adopted all the new men in her life as uncles apart from Puck who she had asked what she should call him and he told her anything but uncle.

"She said they shouldn't love each other." She was near tears at this statement and looked up at her mother. "That it was wrong; but it's not mommy." Her voice was now firm. "Love isn't wrong, mommy why are some people so rude. Mommy it's not fair."

"I know sweetheart." Quinn soothed stroking her hair. "Some people are just horrible." She glanced up at the other four and decided that they would be better equipped to deal with Blaine and Kurt. "Come on you can help me in the kitchen." This cheered Beth up and she took her mother's hand and trotted into the kitchen.

As soon as the door closed behind her the two fell apart. Having lived in New York for so long they had both forgotten that there were some areas and people who could be so narrow-minded. And neither of them coped particularly well in those situations especially as Blaine's parents had cut contact with him since he came out. And all the memories came back for Kurt of his time in high school.

Finn slung his arm round Kurt's shoulder and steered him upstairs to the apartment while Puck gingerly laid a hand on Blaine's shoulder and ushered him upstairs.

"Are you alright?" Finn asked sitting on the coffee table opposite the sofa he had just pushed Kurt onto. Blaine sat down heavily next to him while Puck hovered cautiously behind the sofa; Rachel had stayed behind and joined Quinn and Beth in the kitchen.

"What do you think?" Kurt snapped at his step-brother who flinched slightly at the harsh tone still unused to his brother's snappiness when he was upset.

"Sorry." Finn muttered looking away and studying the floor intently.

"You shouldn't let people like that get to you." Puck offered gingerly; he saw Kurt whip his head round to face him and give some bitter retort and so carried on quickly. "They're just narrow-minded people who can't accept love."

Kurt calmed down slightly at the last statement although Finn suspected that if it had been him saying that Kurt may not have calmed as quickly. But Puck wasn't as close to Kurt and what he had said was so out of character that he subsided onto the sofa.

"Thank you." He whispered to Puck risking a glance at Blaine who was white and frozen in his place. Neither Puck nor Finn would have been able to reach Blaine and so they had to calm Kurt in order for anything to happen. Puck shrugged and looked away embarrassed.

"We love you two." Finn added reaching forward to give his brother a short but firm hug before Kurt stood up and took Blaine's hand leading him to their bedroom.

Once the door shut Blaine threw himself onto the bed lying face down and his shoulders shaking. Kurt leant against the door watching him his heart aching for his boyfriend who was still suffering from the abandonment of his parents.

"Blaine." He whispered softly sitting down slowly next to him and running a gentle hand through his hair to soothe him.

"That woman was like my mother." Blaine rolled onto his back and rested his head in Kurt's lap looking up at him from a tearstained face. "What she said to us was exactly what she said to me the night she and Dad threw me out."

Kurt kept a carefully neutral face; Blaine had never told him about that part of his life only that it had happened. He knew that Blaine had gone to his sister who had moved out the year before after she returned from college.

"She even looked like her." Blaine bit his lip and curled into himself absently running his hand over his arm where Kurt knew a scar ran from his shoulder to his elbow. "And she said that she didn't love me anymore and then Dad threw me into the wall."

Kurt remained silent his mind trying to work out which 'she' Blaine was talking about as he switched between that day and his late teens. And then gasped as the full impact of what Blaine had just said hit him. "I'm so sorry Blaine." He pulled Blaine up so the smaller man was sitting and then lifted him into his lap.

"Don't be sorry." Blaine's voice was muffled against Kurt's chest. "It's not your fault."

Kurt said nothing and let Blaine cry as his hands ran up and down his back soothingly. "I miss her." Blaine muttered eventually.

"Your mom?" Kurt asked cautiously.

Blaine drew back to look at him. "Well yeah, her and Dad but I meant Laura." He was talking about his sister. "She was the only one who stood up for me against mom and dad when I told them and also she tried to get the school to do something when I was being bullied. She loved me, she actually cared what happened to me. And now she's gone and no one cares."

He was crying again and clutching Kurt to him as though he was the one thing keeping him in reality. But Kurt had stiffened and was fighting back tears too although his were angry tears. "How can you say that?" He snapped.

"What?"

"Laura might be gone but that doesn't mean no one cares." Kurt had raised his voice and made no attempt to lower it as he heard muffled voices outside the door wondering whether they should intervene.

"Finn, Puck, Rachel, Wes, David, Nick, Jeff, Carol, Dad, Quinn and Beth all care about you; did you not listen to how Beth lectured that woman when she heard what she was saying. I've never seen a seven year old so mad. All our friends care about you, we all love you. I love you Blaine, I care about you more than anyone else. You can't say that no one cares, you just can't."

He stood up sharply Blaine tumbling onto the bed staring at him in shock. Kurt stormed towards the door hot angry tears falling. "I'm sorry." Blaine whispered but it fell on deaf ears as Kurt slammed the door behind him falling into Finn's arms while Blaine curled in on himself shaking violently.

Thanks for reading- hope you enjoyed.