Part Ten

When Finn entered the garage, his first thought was that Burt Hummel was having another heart attack. It was only after running to his side that Finn saw Kurt leaning against Burt's shoulder. Only then that he realized Burt was crying. Finn knelt beside them. He laid a hand on Kurt's chest then looked questioningly at Burt.

"Pills."

Finn quickly shook off his surprise. This wasn't the time for emotions. He nodded once as he took Kurt from Burt's arms. "Call 911."

"Finn-?"

"I've got this." Finn yelled back as he carried Kurt outside

Finn set Kurt down on the hard surface of the driveway as gently as he could. He unzipped Kurt's sweater and opened it away from his chest. Then used a pocketknife to cut down the center of his t-shirt. Kurt could yell at him later. Right now, he needed to do whatever he could to make it easier for Kurt to breathe. He was pretty sure that didn't include skin tight tees.

He heard Burt follow him out of the garage. Heard his voice on the phone with the 911 operator. He looked down at Kurt, pale and still. Finn took a deep breath and released it slowly, calming himself. He could do this. He went to the place in his head he would go during a game when he was getting ready to make a throw. That perfect point of focus and clarity. Everything in the background faded away to just Finn and Kurt.

ABC. Finn could hear Coach Beiste's voice in his head. ABC. Airway. Breathing. Compression. He knew this. Silently, he took back every complaint and rude comment he had ever made about The Beast's mandatory CPR training.

Finn cupped his hand behind Kurt's neck, tilting his head back slightly to open his airway. He covered Kurt's mouth with his. Two breaths. Finn moved to Kurt's chest and positioned his palms. Fifteen compressions. Just do it like he had practiced on the football field with Mike and Sam. Relax. No pressure. Just follow through. Step by step. Once he stopped thinking about Kurt's life being at risk, Finn fell into a easy, steady rhythm.

Det. Pulaski sat in the station's break room with a cold pizza and a lukewarm Coke working on the Hummel case file. Another detective- Brewster- ducked in and planted a sloppy, noisy, wet kiss on Pulaski's cheek before Pulaski shoved him off, laughing. He heard whistles and catcalls from the detectives watching from the squad room. Brewster winked as he grabbed a slice of the pizza.

"You gonna send me to prison, officer?"

He shoved the pizza in his mouth and playfully offered his wrists to be handcuffed.

"It'd be more action than you've seen in the last three months." Pulaski answered, used to Brewster's humor.

A few more detectives strolled through to grab coffee or a soft drink-or just to good naturedly hassle Det. Pulaski about the Hummel investigation. It had become this week's running joke.

Lost in thought about the case, it was a few minutes before Pulaski realized the background chatter and jokes had died down. He glanced up to see everyone had cleared out. Leaving only Capt. Rutger sitting across the table from him, idly flipping through the copies of his case file.

"John."

"Captain."

Capt. Rutger pulled a photograph of Kurt and Sam kissing from the copies. "This seems redundant."

"That's a copy of the original-before it was Photoshopped." The captain eyed the picture, clearly not pleased. Pulaski tapped the photo. "Look at where Evans' hands are. No way that kiss was nonconsensual."

Capt. Rutger reddened. "That's not your call to make, detective."

Det. Pulaski shrugged. "I screen the case with the prosecutor tomorrow. We'll see if she files charges." He sipped his Coke. "Or not."

Capt. Rutger drummed his fingers on the table. "I expected an arrest by now, Pulaski."

"No, you expected me to kiss Paul Evans' homophobic ass and sacrifice a 16 year old teenager-who happens to be gay-to promote his Christian cultist agenda."

"You're a breath away from insubordination, Pulaski." Capt. Rutger got up and shoved his chair hard against the table before walking out.

Det. Pulaski's cell phone rang and he answered somewhat gruffly, still irritated by his conversation with Rutger.

"Pulaski. Sorry, who? Quince? Just a sec." He grabbed a business card from his wallet and started writing. "Q-u-i-n-n? Yeah, I got it." He went silent, listening to Quinn's rushed explanation about Sam Evans being hurt and taking him to the hospital and asking Det. Pulaski to please meet them there. When she finally took a breath, he quickly interjected a curt, "I'll be there." and hung up.

Burt Hummel watched Finn continue to work on Kurt before stepping up and squeezing his shoulder to get Finn's attention. "It's time to stop."

"No."

"Finn-"

Finn shook his head, face tight with concentration. "I'm not giving up on him."

"Finn!" Burt put his hands over Finn's and, finally, Finn looked up. "Kurt's breathing."

Finn glanced down at Kurt, surprised, but noted his color did look better. He also realized that the paramedics were waiting to transfer Kurt to a gurney. Finn reached over to smooth Kurt's bangs off of his forehead. He stepped aside as Burt gave Kurt a quick kiss on the temple, squeezed his hand and then let the medics load him into the ambulance.

Paul Evans whistled as he stepped onto the plush carpeting of his real estate office. He caught his reflection in the polished chrome pillars of the reception area. Blue eyes, blonde hair, easygoing grin. Even the laugh lines around his eyes worked to his benefit, putting people in mind of Robert Redford. Everything from his clothes to his handshake said, "Trust me."

He had just closed a major deal for the church. He hadn't been able to get the property they wanted . The city insisted on developing a mall on the site. But, he had successfully purchased the adjacent property. What the city planners hadn't realized yet was that the church now owned the land that contained the utilities and only access road to their proposed mall. Paul Evans chuckled to himself. God was good.

He checked in with his receptionist, picked up his messages and flipped through them quickly. "Anything else?"

"There's a woman from Child Protective Services waiting for you."

Paul Evans' smile never faltered as he strode into his office.

Mrs. Della Rose stood as Paul entered and they hugged briefly. Paul moved to his desk, sat down and templed his fingers thoughtfully. "Sam?"

Della nodded. "Sam. CPS was just contacted by Mercy Central Hospital. I'm on my way to meet with a Det. John Pulaski."

"Pulaski." Paul Evan's smile quickly turned to a scowl. "What about Sarah?"

"She's at the hospital, too."

"Who do we have in place at Mercy Central?"

Della Rose thought a moment before answering. "Two or three nurses, a couple of security guards, an orderly and a pharmacy technician." She considered, "We might be able to move two of the security guards from Mercy North in. I doubt anyone would notice."

"Do it." Paul picked up his phone. "I'll let the elders know there's a problem. You go ahead and meet with Det. Pulaski, find out as much as you can about what evidence they have. I'll be there shortly."