Chapter 9: Going Home

When Blaine woke again, it was to a loud crash as the front door of Kurt's apartment was caved in by the foot of the last person either of them wanted to see.

Blaine jolted awake, sitting up in panic. "Kurt, wake up!" he hissed, shaking Kurt's shoulders. Kurt gasped softly as he startled awake, looking at Blaine worriedly.

"What's wrong, Blaine? Are you hurting? Do you need some medicine?"

Blaine shook his head quickly. "No, but I just heard—"

He was cut off when Kurt gasped loudly and before Blaine knew it he was being pushed behind Kurt and Kurt was sitting in front of him protectively. Blaine was confused until he looked at the bedroom doorway and saw his father, who was fuming angrily.

"Stay away from him!" Kurt growled, ignoring Blaine when he tried to pull Kurt back.

"Kurt, please, he'll hurt you again," Blaine pleaded desperately. But Kurt didn't budge.

"Blaine," his father said forcefully, "you're coming home with me. People are starting to notice your absence, and no one is going to believe that you're at camp for much longer. This isn't a discussion. Pack your things and say goodbye to your slut—"

"He's not—!"

"Don't you dare talk back to me!" he shouted. "You have exactly thirty seconds. After that… I think you know exactly what you'll get if you aren't out that door." With that, he left the room, going to wait impatiently in the living room.

Before Kurt could stop him, Blaine hopped out of the bed and grabbed a plastic shopping bag, stuffing as many of his belongings in it as he could. He was breathing unsteadily and his entire figure was trembling with fear.

Kurt hated seeing him this way.

"Blaine," he said, putting a gentle hand on Blaine's shoulder as he stood behind the boy. Blaine flinched away from the touch and Kurt pulled his hand back dejectedly. "Blaine, please, you don't have to do this."

"Don't you get it, Kurt?" Blaine snapped, turning to him. Kurt stepped back, surprised. "You don't know what it's like. Your parents love you and you have a brother who would do anything to protect you. I have a mom who drinks and ignores me and a dad who treats me like a punching bag and happily spits on me afterwards." He choked on the last few words, but he didn't stop. He was on a roll. "And my brother couldn't care less about me. He's in L.A. living it up and I haven't seen him once in the past, what, three years? I don't even know how long it's been.

"You have no idea what it's like to be scared constantly!" Blaine said with a hint of desperation in his voice. "At least you had a safe home to return to after school." He paused and shook his head, taking in and letting out a shaky breath. "So I do have to do this. I don't have a choice." At that moment, Blaine's dad came in the room.

"Blaine! Time's up!" He grabbed Blaine by the collar of his shirt and Blaine gasped, choking out a cough as he was yanked towards the door. When Blaine lost his balance because of one angry tug forward, falling to the ground and whimpering in pain, Kurt seemed to snap out of his state of shock. He dashed forward grabbed Blaine in a tight hug.

"Kurt, don't!" the boy cried desperately. But Kurt didn't move and Blaine's dad huffed angrily before backhanding Kurt across the face, knocking him out of the way. Kurt groaned and held his stinging cheek as Blaine struggled to free himself from the vice grip he was in. He'd been prepared to go willingly until he saw Kurt being hurt. "Kurt!" he cried. "Kurt!"

"Shut up!" his dad hissed with one sharp kick to Blaine's side. Blaine groaned in pain and keeled over, kneeling on the floor and hugging his middle. "Get up and walk or your friend gets the belt."

That snapped Blaine into action. He never wanted Kurt to go through that. He stumbled shakily to his feet and tried to compose himself before walking out the door and towards his dad's car. He didn't even get a chance to make sure Kurt was okay before he was in the backseat and on the way back to his own personal hell.

Kurt ran out the front door, cursing when he saw Blaine's dad's car driving away. He grabbed his keys and got in his own car, following after the SUV that had just left the parking lot.

He pulled up outside the Anderson home seconds after Blaine and his dad did, but he got out of the car first. He marched over to their car and tugged Blaine gently but quickly out of the backseat before his dad could even get out of the car.

"Kurt, I told you—"

Kurt cut off Blaine's half-hearted protests with a quick kiss. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe now." He ushered Blaine into the backseat of his car and kissed his forehead before climbing into the driver's seat. Locking all the doors, he waited.

"Kurt, he's—"

"He's not going to hurt you," Kurt said firmly. Blaine was about to ask just how Kurt could be so certain when he heard police sirens behind them. Wide-eyed, he looked out the back window and saw a police car.

"Kurt," he choked out. "No, no, no, no, no… Why'd you call them? No, I—they'll send me away—I don't want to live in a shelter. I'm not an orphan." He looked at Kurt, betrayal and hurt evident in his sad eyes. Kurt sighed and climbed into the backseat to hug him, which Blaine willingly welcomed. He buried his face in Kurt's chest and relaxed slightly when Kurt wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Blaine, it's going to be okay. I talked to my dad the earlier while you were sleeping and he said you're welcome to stay at his house anytime. I wouldn't have called them if I didn't know that you'd be somewhere safe. But I couldn't just let him take you away and go on hurting you like he has been. I couldn't stand to see you go back to the sad, lifeless boy you were when we met. He takes the light right out of your eyes; I've seen it."

"I love you," Blaine whispered. "Please don't ever leave me." With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Kurt tensed, Blaine's words playing through his mind. Please don't ever leave me. Kurt knew that Blaine must have been half asleep and not thinking clearly because he wouldn't normally say something like that knowing that Kurt didn't have a choice. He couldn't stay, no matter how much he wanted to, and it broke his heart knowing how much it would hurt Blaine when he had to leave.

He knew what he had to do. At school, he had to make sure Blaine had a support system. He had to ensure that Blaine had friends who would happily help him when he needed it. Then, at the Hummel home, he had to make sure Blaine trusted Kurt's family so that he would feel comfortable staying with them once Kurt was gone. And finally, he had to make sure that he wouldn't be leaving Blaine as a broken shard of a person, broken-hearted. He had to make sure Blaine was strong enough to let him go.

A knock on the window startled them both and Kurt looked up to see one of the police officers outside the car door. He unlocked the door and smiled at the officer. "Can I help you?"

"Well, it seems Mr. Anderson isn't going to make any confessions willingly, so we need a testimony from both you and Blaine, and if it's okay we would like to see some of the injuries as evidence. Step out of the car please?"

Kurt nodded and helped a very anxious and reluctant Blaine out of the car. Blaine glanced over the where his dad was standing next to the police cruiser, being handcuffed as a safety precaution and to make Blaine feel more comfortable. Blaine saw his father glaring at him and he flinched, moving closer to Kurt and relaxing slightly when Kurt hugged him.

"Blaine?" the officer asked, and Blaine jumped slightly, startled.

"Y-Yes?"

"I'm Lieutenant Jacobsen. I need to ask you a few questions, and then you're free to go. Is that okay?" Blaine swallowed nervously, nodding. "Okay. I apologize, but we're technically required to take this into the station for an official testimony from you."

Blaine's eyes widened and he glanced anxiously over to where his dad was being seated in the back of the police car. "D-Do I have to ride in the car with him? Can Kurt drive me there instead?" The officer nodded understandingly and Blaine sighed in relief before climbing back into Kurt's car.

Silently, they drove in front of the cruiser to the station. When they got there, Kurt walked Blaine inside and they followed the Lieutenant until Blaine was led into a room with one-sided glass. Kurt stayed outside the room, watching and listening anxiously.

Blaine fidgeted with his hands in his lap, not making eye contact.

"Blaine? I know this is hard for you but I'm going to need you to answer these questions as honestly as possible." Blaine nodded, finally looking up at the Lieutenant. "Thank you. First question: has your father ever hit you."

Blaine winced. "Y-Yes," he answered. He tried to answer honestly because he knew Kurt wanted him to, but he couldn't get the image of an orphanage out of his head. He didn't want to go there. "Yes, he has," he said a little more strongly. He trusted that Kurt would take care of him and take him somewhere safe.

"Okay. And has your father ever gotten drunk?" Blaine answered in the affirmative again. "Has he ever hit you when he's been drunk?"

"Yes."

"Has he hit you when he's been sober?"

"Yes," Blaine choked out. He didn't see how any of this was helping. He'd already confirmed that his dad abused him; why did it matter whether it was when he was sober or not? "With all due respect, officer, does it really matter whether he was drunk or not? That doesn't make it right."

"Of course it doesn't, Blaine," Jacobsen agreed. "Most of these questions are only technicalities. I can promise you that your father won't be able to hurt you again. Now, I know this is going to be hard for you, but I need to see the injuries from the abuse. If you want, we can move to a more private room and Kurt can be there with you if that makes you more comfortable." Blaine nodded instantly, itching to have Kurt next to him again. "Okay. Just follow me." Lieutenant Jacobsen stood and Blaine followed him down the hall, along with Kurt, to a medical room. It reminded Blaine vaguely of the school's nurse's office. "From what Kurt has said, the only recent injury from your father is on your back. Is that true?" Blaine nodded. "Okay, then you can remove only your shirt. Can you do that for me, Blaine?" Blaine nodded, shifting in annoyance. While he appreciated that he was trying to be comforting and understanding, Blaine knew that he could never understand. He also knew that he hated being talked to like a small child.

Nevertheless, Blaine removed his shirt, wincing when it rubbed over his tender back. With an encouraging smile from Kurt, he turned so that the Lieutenant could see his back.

"Are you okay with telling me how you got this?" Jacobsen asked. Blaine nodded and swallowed before speaking.

"I've been staying with Kurt, but I went to my parents' house to grab a few things and I didn't know my dad would be there. He got really angry and took my up to my room. He tied my ankles to the bed so I couldn't get away and then he hit me with his belt…" He trailed off with a choked sob and turned into Kurt's embrace. "It happened a few days ago and I tried to hide it but I couldn't…"

"Okay, Blaine, that's all we need," Jacobsen said gently. "Thank you." With that, he left the room and Blaine sighed in relief, hugging Kurt tightly. Kurt kissed his cheek tenderly and shushed him sweetly.

"It's alright, Blaine," he murmured. "Just relax, honey…" He took off his own sweatshirt and slipped it over Blaine's head so he would stay warm, kissing Blaine's lips lightly afterwards. "Do you feel any better?"

Blaine nodded, smiling as he rested his head against Kurt's chest. "Thank you, Kurt. Thank you for everything."

"Like I said, you don't have to keep thanking me," Kurt said with a fond smile.

"Yes. Yes, I do," Blaine murmured. "Because you keep giving me things to be happy about."

Kurt felt like he was close to tears, and he swallowed thickly, tangling his fingers in Blaine's hair and smiling into the dark curls. "You deserve to be happy, Blaine."

"You deserve it, too," Blaine said softly, looking up and cupping Kurt's face in both hands. "You're such an amazing person, Kurt, and your heart is so kind. You deserve all the good in the world and then some."

Kurt finally let a few tears fall and Blaine caught them with his thumbs before they could fall off of his cheeks. Kurt leaned in and kissed him, threading his fingers through Blaine's hair tenderly.

Just as they pulled away, the door opened and their sweet moment was lost but not forgotten. They turned to see Lieutenant Jacobsen smiling at them. Blaine smiled in return, holding tight to Kurt, but his smile quickly fell when the Lieutenant said the last thing he wanted to hear.

"Now, Blaine, we need to find a Home for you to stay in." And Blaine was pretty sure he wasn't talking about the Hummel house.

A/N: Yay, I updated when I said I would! Here's a chapter :) Hope you like it.

So, I'm thinking there will be at least 2-3 more chapters to this, but don't hold me to that. It could be more or it could be less but that's my estimation. My idea for how to end this story completely changed everything and also added a chapter or two. So, lucky you; you get a longer story because I can't make up my mind.

Review please :)

Love you, my lovelies!