Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I don't own Blaine, or Kurt. (Which is probably for the best, all things equal.) No money is being made off of this work. It's a work of fiction, and it's going to potentially contain triggers for all sorts of squicky stuff. So please, if you're easily triggered by mentions of rape, suicide, depression, I won't be at all offended if you go find another story to read. I'd appreciate it, however, if you do read it, please review! The more reviews, the faster I post the next chapter.

Note: This is an interlude which explains why Burt and Carole didn't lose it when Kurt and Blaine explained everything in their living room. They waited. And lost it later that same night. Many many thanks to the lovely reviewer who prompted me to post this little interlude...it would have stayed firmly on my hard drive otherwise. So thank you, Azaelia67. This one's for you. It takes place the same night as Chapter 7.

Innocence Lost - An Interlude - Burt and Carole

Burt nodded. "Alright," he said. "Let's go, Carole." He reached for his wife's hand and led her toward the door. They put their shoes and coats on and walked outside. "I can't believe this," he said quietly.

"Neither can I," Carole said. "Poor Kurt. He's so young…"

"And so inexperienced," Burt said. "I mean, when I forced him to have that talk about sex, he knew nothing, Carole. About sex in general, much less about sex between men. And now, to be introduced to it so….horribly." He shook his head. "Carole, what do we do?"

"We make sure he knows we're here for him, that we don't judge him, and," Carole turned toward Burt and looked into his eyes, "we accept that he and Blaine are serious about one another, and we give them a safe place to be together."

Burt sighed. "I don't know that I'm ready to take things that far. But I'll consider it."

"That's all I can ask," Carole said. "Now. About that walk." The two set off on their normal evening path. They'd made it as far as the park a block away when Burt sat down heavily on a bench, burying his face in his hands. "Honey?" Carole asked, momentarily concerned for her husband's heart.

"I can't believe this!" Burt exclaimed. "How did we miss this? How did we miss the signs? He's been withdrawn, he broke up with Blaine, for God's sake! How did we miss this?"

Carole bit her lower lip, and sat down next to him. "I didn't. Well, not really. But your son is very, very good at twisting the truth to suit himself. He told me he'd been experimenting," she said quietly. "When I confronted him about the blood on his clothing, he told me he'd been…" she sighed. "He'd been experimenting, by himself. And caused a little tear, that'd made him bleed. It was the most embarrassing conversation I've had. With either of our kids. Ever. He swore it had nothing to do with breaking up with Blaine. Blaine himself told me he and Kurt hadn't been sexually active. So I let it go. I swear, Burt, if I had had any idea that he was lying…"

Burt clenched his teeth, then looked up at his wife. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Kurt was embarrassed enough. Burt, honey, I'm a nurse. I've dealt with these kind of injuries before, and the amount of blood was consistent. So I simply left a tube of antibiotic ointment on his bedside table when he went to school on Tuesday, with a note saying I hoped he'd use it. When I next saw him, he gave me a shy smile and said thank you. So I thought it was done. He knew he could come to me, he accepted my help, and I seriously thought it was done. I'm sorry." She rubbed his back, blinking back tears.

"It's not your fault. We agreed we'd parent the boys equally, and if something seemed better suited to one or the other of us, we'd handle it. But, fuck, Carole, my boy was raped! By some faceless scumbag! And he doesn't even want us calling the cops. I'm half-tempted to do it anyway."

Carole shook her head, a watery smile crossing her face. "He's going to the clinic in the morning. He's a minor. As long as he tells them the truth, which Blaine will make him, they'll call the police for us. They have to report child abuse, which this technically is. You don't have to betray his trust, you can stay his big, strong, dad, and he'll get the help he needs."

Burt looked at her in amazement. "That's why you didn't break down back there. You'd already figured it all out."

She nodded. "And if for some reason you don't get a call from Kurt while he's at the clinic, asking your permission to speak to the police officers alone, then we'll call the police when he gets home. We'll give the boys tomorrow to handle it, the way Kurt wants to, and then we'll act, if we need to. After a week, there's no chance of any physical evidence that can actually tie the bastard to the crime, but the police are going to ask him about everything. I just want him to think he's in control. Rape survivors need that, honey."

Burt nodded. "And I suppose a newly minted US Congressman landing himself in jail for murder, however justified, wouldn't look too good. Sue Sylvester would probably get my seat." He clenched his fists at that thought. What he really wanted was just five minutes alone with the guy who had the audacity to hurt his son.

"There you go. Being logical." Burt grunted. "But honey, please stay calm. Your heart doesn't need the stress. I know you're upset-"

"Damn right I'm upset! He raped my kid!" Burt stood and began walking again. "How's he supposed to get over this, Carole? I mean, I'm still getting used to the idea of him having a boyfriend, and they've been together almost a year. And by their own admission, they still haven't…is it wrong of me to think this would have been easier on him if I hadn't been so against him having sex? If I'd…somehow encouraged it?"

"Do not go blaming yourself for this," Carole said firmly, walking quickly to catch up. "Whether he'd had sex or not leading up to this, it wouldn't have changed what happened. Rape and sex aren't the same thing. You know that. Yes, he might have had more of an idea of what was going to happen. But who's to say that wouldn't have made it worse? Who's to say it wouldn't have made him incapable of a healthy sexual relationship?"

"Who's to say it hasn't?" Burt asked quietly. "Who knows what's going to happen from here?'

"That's why you're going to send an email to Emma Pillsbury tomorrow morning, asking her to call Kurt into her office first thing Monday morning. She'll recommend a suitable counselor, and we'll get both boys to go. Kurt and Blaine, I mean. I'm pretty sure Finn will be uncomfortable, but he's not likely to have any lasting trauma, don't you think?"

"I don't know," Burt mused. "Finn has always had that bit of a protective streak. We have to be prepared for the very real possibility that he's going to do what Finn does and blame himself for not protecting Kurt. Plus, I'm fairly certain Finn has never considered the idea of a man being raped. Or the mechanics of how that could happen. This may be far more traumatic than either you or I realize."

Carole sighed. "You're right. Better have Emma call in all of them, separately."

Burt looked at his wife. "This really happened," he murmured. "I've spent so much time getting ready to go to Washington, and getting the shop in order, that I didn't even notice my son's life falling apart."

"Stop it," Carole said firmly, turning Burt to face her on the sidewalk. "Don't start doing this. You are not a bad parent. You just got too used to Kurt being happy and safe. Which is in no way a bad thing. Burt, honey, you couldn't have changed that this happened."

"But…Carole, what if he'd killed himself. What if he'd gone through with it? How would I have ever known why he did it? How would any of us have gotten through that? That kid in our house, he saved my son's life."

Carole smiled. "You always did like Blaine," she reminded.

"Not always. Not the first time I met him, drunk and in my kid's bed. But after that, yeah, I have to say I like him a lot. And he and Kurt…"

"They're good for one another," Carole agreed. "But he knew he'd done nothing wrong to provoke the break-up. You and I, we had no idea why Kurt broke up with him, not really. It was entirely feasible for us to think that Kurt's attitude this last week was because of the break-up and nothing more. We're parents, not mind-readers."

"I know," Burt said. "But…I should have asked more questions. I should have made him tell me what was wrong."

"Are you forgetting which teenager we're talking about?" Carole asked. "Because, honey, he's your son. Your stubborn, mule-headed, wonderful, incredible, son. He wouldn't tell us his secrets for anything. Anything short of Blaine."

"You know, most people say high school love doesn't last…"

"But you and I, we know it does," Carole said. She smiled sadly. "Let's get home. We still have to tell Finn what happened, and there's at least one movie I want to see tonight. The next few weeks aren't going to be easy, especially with you in Washington for most of next week, but we'll make it through. I promise. We'll make it through."

"You really think we should let Kurt and Blaine sleep with the door closed, don't you," Burt said as they meandered back toward the house.

"Yes, I really think so," Carole said. "Look, in a few months, Kurt's going to go to New York, and Blaine's stuck here another year. He already commutes over an hour each way, just to spend time with Kurt. He'd still be at Dalton if it weren't for Kurt, and you and I both know it. That's not a light decision to make. The boy is nothing if not responsible. And I don't think he'd lay a finger on Kurt. Not right now, at least. But Burt, honey, weren't you the one to tell me they don't have any safe place to be alone? They can't go parking the way we might have in high school, they can't even make out in the back of a movie theatre, or worse, even hold hands in a restaurant. Clearly, Blaine's parents don't support his sexual orientation. I just…I know I'm over-stepping, that he's your son, but I just feel like they need some place to be alone, together. To be teenagers, in love."

"You're not over-stepping. You're the only mother figure he has now. But you're suggesting essentially just giving them a place to have sex," Burt said. "After all of this, I don't want to think of Kurt having sex at all."

"I know, sweetie. But if they want to have sex, us telling them they can't do it in our house isn't going to change them wanting to. They'll find a place. And it's not going to be a safe place."

Burt sighed. "I need some time to think about this. For tonight, we'll just close the door so they aren't disturbed. We'll discuss this more later, I'm sure."

Carole nodded. "Because it's different with Finn," she said. "And I don't want double standards, and yet…"

"Yeah," he said. "We have to figure all this out. Somehow."

Carole squeezed his hand. "Let's go enjoy our movie. Kurt is safe for tonight."

"I love you."

"I love you."

Back at the house, Carole poured two glasses of red wine. "You put the movie in, I'm going up to check on the boys," she directed her husband. She walked on silent feet up the stairs and peeked into the room through the open door. What she saw brought a smile to her face. The two boys, curled up around one another, obviously fully clothed, hands where she could see them all. The determined look on Blaine's face, even in sleep, told her she had nothing to worry about. Blaine would protect Kurt, no matter what. She pulled the door shut, not wanting to wake them when she and Burt started their evening movie.

By silent agreement, the two adults didn't speak about the events of the evening during the movie. Not until Finn walked through the door, feeling his way through with his eyes closed in a most comic display. Carole had had a hard time not laughing. They finished their explanation, sent Finn up to bed, and turned the movie back on.

After the movie, Carole straightened the living room while Burt checked all the locks. Sure that his family was safe inside the house, he took his wife by the hand and led her to the bedroom. But he couldn't sleep, and he lay on his side, watching her in the moonlight streaming through the window.

Carole felt her husband's tension beside her, and finally rolled to face him. "You want to talk some more?" she asked softly.

"I think I need to," Burt said, pulling her in to lie against his chest. "They're adults, aren't they."

"Pretty close," she acknowledged. "Finn is eighteen, Kurt's only a few months away, and Rachel and Blaine will be by the end of the year."

"We have to let them make their own decisions, don't we," he continued.

"It would be wise. They're not going to have parents holding their hands in New York. They're not going to have us saying 'do this, don't do that,' every time they get a wild thought in their heads."

"When did you become so pragmatic and logical?" Burt asked, stroking his wife's hair.

"When my son's girlfriend moved into my house for several weeks, saying she was pregnant with his child. And that was over two years ago. If they were old enough to make a child…"

"But Finn didn't."

"But he didn't know that. And he went out, and got a job, and did the responsible thing. He may be a little innocent at times, but Finn isn't a child. And I don't treat him as one, well, I try not to. I let you do most of the parenting when it comes to Kurt, but I feel I should have a say in some of this."

"Of course," Burt said. "You know that. We do this together, Carole. I've never contradicted a single thing you've said to Kurt, and never purposefully undermined anything you've said to Finn. As far as I'm concerned, you're the mother in this household, and what you say goes, just as much as me."

She smiled. "I didn't mean it like that, love," she said. "When I peeked into Kurt's room tonight, I could tell three things. One, they were both in pajamas. Two, hands were where I could see them. And three, and probably most important, even in sleep, Blaine looked like he would take on the world if Kurt needed him to. No, these boys aren't kids. And that scares me."

"I still want to kill the bastard."

"I know you do. And I wish to God that Kurt had come to us a week ago. I'm going to talk to him this week, while you're in Washington, and see if I can't impress upon him that we're here, we're not going to judge him, and all we want is for him to be safe, and happy. I don't want any of our boys hiding serious stuff like this." Carole looked up, and kissed Burt on the chin. "Now go to sleep," she said. "You have to go to the shop in the morning."

Burt groaned. "They'd better do what they said they would do," he said about Blaine and Kurt. "Because if he doesn't go to the clinic, I'm taking him to the emergency room. And calling the cops."

"Of course. Don't beat yourself up too badly over this, honey," Carole said gently. "Everything is going to be alright. Somehow." Kissing him one more time, she rolled onto her side, her back to Burt, snuggled into him.

Burt rolled onto his side, pulling her closer to him. "I love you," he whispered, kissing her hair.

"I love you," she responded. She closed her eyes, trying to sleep. It was only a moment before she felt her husband shuddering behind her, as he sobbed silently. She rolled back to him, cradling his head to her chest. "Shhh…" she whispered. She stroked a hand up and down his back. "It's okay. Just let it out."

It was a long time before either of them fell asleep.

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