PLEASE HAVE MERCY! I was up all night writing so this is not edited, I was too tired…

Like before, laws, rules, legal stuff is all made up in my mind... it's a scary place, stay out!

. . . . . . . .

Burt looked down at his son and couldn't help the tear that escaped. Brushing his fingers against the soft cheeks that blushed just like his mother's had, he silently promised that he would make things right.

Nick and Jeff led him to the dining table and handed him a can of soda.

"I can't tell you boys what it means to me that you saved my son," he said gruffly.

They gave him small smiles. "It wasn't a choice. And he would've done the same for any of us," Jeff said quietly.

Nick took his soul mate's hand. "I'm still in shock. But Kurt can stay here as long as he'd like. I don't know what is going to happen when Blaine comes back. I'm hoping once he sobers up, he'll get his head out of his ass and let Kurt stay here till graduation. Who knows? With those damn Dom orders he's so fond of giving out, I don't know what to do."

"I'll just take him home with me," Burt said, his voice firm.

"Sir, graduation is in two weeks. We have finals almost daily until then. Kurt can't miss that. It would be impossible to send him back to McKinley. If Blaine told the Dean that Kurt lived outside Dalton jurisdiction, Kurt would have to change schools," Jeff told him.

"We'll watch over him, sir. We'll make plans with Kurt to stay away from Blaine as much as possible and if he has to go back to living with him, we can create text codes in case he needs to get out of there," Nick said, Jeff nodding his agreement.

"Fuck! I hate this shit. I hate that little bastard," Burt fumed.

"We're not real big fans either and we've been friends with him since elementary school. As much as he anticipated being with his soul mate, dreamed about and planned for it, I never once would have thought it possible for him to do this," Jeff said, squeezing Nick's hand.

"Well, I want to make it impossible for him to do this again," Burt announced.

"What did you have in mind?" Nick asked.

"Kurt said he'd found a way around Blaine's gag order on going to California. How he wouldn't fight it just like Blaine said, he just wouldn't go. It's brilliant, if you think about it. Now we just have to figure out a way for him to get out of here before the planned move. Would you two be willing to help or would that cross too many lines for you. Be honest now, I don't want you to feel forced into helping," Burt said, giving them a serious look.

Jeff looked at Nick and shared a glance that many long-term couples can share that speaks volumes.

Nick nodded and turned to Burt. "We're in."

Nick grabbed his laptop and Jeff grabbed a sheet of paper to jot down things they needed to do. Burt told them about the money he had given Kurt for college, the amount he could remember Kurt already having, and the income from the sale of the Navigator. Nick immediately said that Kurt needed to move his bank account. He'd looked up Ohio state sub laws and found that Blaine had the right to access Kurt's account. He suggested moving the account to a national bank chain and found one that had its base in New York. That put the bank under New York jurisdiction which allowed subs the same privacy Doms would have. Nick said that all around, New York had equal laws for Doms and subs. It was one of the states that was pushing for nationwide changes in the archaic sub laws. Jeff said Kurt should change all passwords that he has; emails, laptop and tablet, even things like Facebook and Twitter. Nick took it one step further and have him save all his computer data to thumb drives and wipe the computer. He didn't want Blaine to be able to track anything from it. Burt brought up strategies for finding an apartment and how to put a deposit on it without having to go to New York. Jeff busily wrote down idea after idea and solutions to different problems that could arise. After almost two hours they went over the list and decided that it just might work. Kurt could go to the college of his dreams and escape a monster at the same time.

. . . . . . .

That evening, Kurt woke up and moved onto his side with his dads help. Jeff and Nick had left to go grab dinner for them all. Father and son spent time hugging, crying and apologizing to one another. Burt tried to allay Kurt's fears of Blaine and they discussed the plans Nick had to keep him safe and it calmed his son down. Burt said he would come and spend the next couple weekends with Kurt so he wouldn't have to spend more time than needed in the dorms. He then took Kurt through the basics of the 'Great Escape'. Kurt's eyes lit up and then filled with tears in gratitude to his father and friends. The idea of finally being free to be his own person and to not living in fear was overwhelming.

Nick and Jeff stormed into the room, surprising father and son.

"Blaine's right behind us," Nick said. "Jeff, help Kurt to the bedroom and lock the door. Now."

Kurt looked at Burt whose face was contorted in fury. His father nodded at him and he and Jeff helped Kurt up. Walking slowly, Jeff got Kurt to the bedroom and Burt listened for the sound of the lock.

At the soft click, Burt and Nick walked into the hall, locking the dorm behind them. Just as Nick turned around, Blaine turned the corner.

Burt didn't give Blaine a chance to even realize who he was before plowing his fist into the jaw of the smaller man.

"You touched my son! You motherfucking chicken-shit coward! How dare you take your insecurities out on an innocent and weaker man! Is the alcohol making you brave now? Come on, little troll-headed fucker, take me on! You want to beat someone? Try me on for size!" With that, Burt slammed his fist into Blaine's gut.

Blaine gave a strangled gasp and fell to the floor, his face the picture of shock.

"Should I grab a spoon and flay your ass open? Is that how I can punish you for beating the shit out of my son? The son I trusted you with? I defended you, you bastard! I pushed Kurt to accept you and you promised me you would take care of him! You promised again after you threatened him sexually, which was also after drinking. Ever heard of Alcoholics Anonymous, Blaine?" he sneered, pushing the boy down as he tried to stand. Blaine tried to crabwalk backward and Burt stalked after him. "Ever heard of anger management? Maybe you should give it a try. You do realize, don't you, that you were the one to push Kurt to the point of needing to go to that stalker? He was only home for so long because he was afraid you would order him to have sex with you! Now you want to take it out on him? You want to call him a whore? Come on, Blaine, tell me why you did this. Explain it to me. I'd like to see things from your point of view… oh but I can't seem to get my head that far up your ass!"

Burt went to kick Blaine and Nick pulled him back. "Burt, you don't want to end up in jail. While the cops tend to look the other way when it comes to Doms who abuse," he emphasized, glaring at Blaine who was struggling to stand. "But if they think he had the right, they may not be as lenient. Do it for Kurt."

Burt backed away. "You're right son. Kurt is worth putting aside my anger and rage," he said, looking at Blaine like he was a cockroach. "Let's go back to my son and help him care for his injuries."

"I… Burt, I wouldn't call the cops on you," Blaine said quietly.

"Number one, it's Mr. Hummel. Number two, am I supposed to be grateful? If it wouldn't affect Kurt negatively I would kick your ass until you were a stain on the carpet and then I'd spit on you just like you spit on my son," Burt sneered.

"I don't expect gratitude or anything else from you," Blaine said tiredly.

"Funny, I expected a whole lot from you. I expected you to love Kurt, to take care of him, to treat him good and put his needs above your own. Well, that obviously was a mistake on my part," Burt said and turned back and headed toward the dorm.

"How is he?" Blaine asked as they neared Nick's room.

Burt swung around. "Are you fucking kidding me? How is he? How do you think he is, oh great Dom! You smacked him and beat the shit out of him. How do you think he is?"

Nick shook his head, astounded by the guy he used to call his best friend. "Seriously Blaine. I walked in as you were beating him with that spoon. He was screaming in agony, his ass already black and blue. How do you think he is?"

Blaine's skin took on a greenish sheen, a sob escaping him. "Oh god. I was drunk. I…I thought maybe it wasn't as bad as I remembered."

"I'm pretty sure it was worse," Nick said. "He can barely move, Blaine."

Blaine collapsed against the wall near Nick's dorm, shoulders shaking as he sobbed. "I'm sorry. God, Kurt, I'm so sorry! I love you so much!"

"Don't say that," Burt demanded. "Don't you dare say you love my boy. You acted against him in pure hate. You lost the right to say you love him."

"Go to your room, Blaine. I don't want you near my soul mate. I can't trust you anymore," Nick's voice was quiet but firm.

Blaine looked at him, stunned. "I would never hurt Jeff."

"Like you would never hurt Kurt?" Nick asked simply.

Blaine just stared at him for a moment. Then he put his head down and walked to his room. Nick and Burt watched Blaine until he disappeared behind his own door before going back inside Nick's room.

. . . . . . .

Kurt skipped one day of classes before spending the weekend with Burt, Nick and Jeff. The three men did their best to keep Kurt pain free and in a good mood. By Sunday night, Kurt was able to walk from one end of the dorm to the other without cringing.

After Burt left, Kurt got up and went to the door.

"Where are you going?" Nick asked.

"To my room," Kurt said quietly.

"Um, no you're not," Jeff said, walking to him.

"Look, we have this… strategy in place. In order for it to go as smoothly as possible, things have to look like they're getting back to normal. I have to go along with things to make it as easy on myself as I can. I'm going to sleep on the couch and just keep my mouth shut. I have my phone, we have our code words. I'll be spending most of my time studying anyway. I can do that in the library once I can get that far. They have padded chairs. Besides," Kurt said with a grim smile. "His grandfather was the one who picked him up and dropped him off. His grandpa has very old fashioned ideas. I don't want him telling Blaine he needs to give more Dom orders. I'll even call and check in with you guys every couple of hours," Kurt offered.

"Every hour you text me. Add the word coffee in every text so I know it's you," Jeff said with a wink.

"Kurt, I don't like this. Promise me you aren't going back to him," Nick said, coming close and staring into Kurt's eyes.

Kurt looked back steadily. "The last thing I want to do is even be near him. Being in this dorm is too close to him in my book. But I want to leave this place. In order to do so in the easiest way possible, I need to make it look like I'm trying to make things better with my Dom. I don't intend on even talking to him if I can get away with it. So I go to classes, study, take a pain killer and go to sleep," he said with a resigned shrug. "He takes one step toward me in anger and I'll take a fucking bus to New York."

Nick stayed silent for a long moment. Finally he nodded. "Every hour and we call whenever we want. If you don't answer, we're coming after you."

"Deal," Kurt said.

Nick walked with him and Kurt put up his hand indicating he wanted to walk in alone. Nick nodded and went back to his door before turning to watch.

Kurt took a deep breath and opened the door. Blaine was sitting on the couch and stood up in shock when he saw Kurt at the door.

"Kurt," was all he could say.

"I'm tired," Kurt rasped, trying not to cry. He'd underestimated the amount of fear he'd feel. His hands were shaking, his knees quivering.

"I'll walk you to the room," Blaine said, walking to him.

It took everything in Kurt's power to not scream and run. Instead, he shook his head. "I'm okay. I'm gonna change and then I'll sleep on the couch."

Blaine stood there, at a loss for words.

Kurt began hobbling toward the bedroom.

"Oh god, Kurt. You can barely walk," Blaine whispered, staring at him in shock.

Kurt bit his lip until it bled so he didn't turn and scream in Blaine's face. He continued his slow walk to the bedroom. He knew Blaine was following him, but he kept from showing his fear.

Throwing the overnight bag Jeff had packed him on the bed, he ambled into the closet and pulled out a pair of loose pajama pants and a tank top. He'd planned on changing in the bathroom, but he decided that Blaine didn't feel bad enough yet. With a grim expression, he took his clothes and laid them on the bed.

He knew Blaine was standing in the doorway watching as he gingerly pulled his t-shirt off. He knew his bruises extended above his pant line and heard Blaine's gasp when he finally got the shirt off.

"Jesus Christ," Blaine gasped.

Without pausing, Kurt pushed his pants down, hissing as the waistband brushed his ass. Kurt knew what Blaine was seeing, his lower back down to mid-thigh was one giant bruise. Across his rear and his upper-thighs, the bruises were deep, angry purple.

He heard a loud thud and turned to see Blaine on his knees, sobs shaking his body. Blaine looked up at him, horror twisting his features. Suddenly, he lurched up and ran toward the bathroom. Kurt heard Blaine vomiting and choking. Calmly, he grabbed his clean pants and very slowly eased his way into them. By the time he got them pulled up, he was sweating and whining in pain. The toilet flushed and the faucet ran before Blaine slowly walked into the bedroom. Kurt was wrestling his shirt on, his whole body now shaking from the exertion.

"Can I help you?" Blaine asked quietly.

Kurt was going to say no, but figured he might as well ask since he really did need help. "I, uh, I need to take a painkiller. Would you please get me a glass of water?"

"Of course," Blaine said eagerly and ran to the kitchen. He was back just as Kurt was able to finish pulling his top on.

"Thank you," Kurt said, avoiding his eyes. He dug out the bottle of painkillers and shook one out before taking the glass from Blaine.

"What are those?" Blaine asked.

Kurt swallowed the pill before answering. "Percocet."

"That's really strong," he stated.

"Yeah," Kurt said. He turned to begin the walk back to the living room.

"Would you rather sleep in the bed?" Blaine asked, staying close to him.

Kurt's stomach rolled. Should he tell the truth or lie? He didn't know how Blaine was feeling. He had his emotions on such a tight lockdown, there was no way he'd be able to tell if he was angry or not. He decided to lie.

"I, uh, can't risk bumping into you. It'll hurt too much," he whispered the last bit so he didn't sound accusatory.

"Oh, right. I can take the couch. I want you to have all the room you need," he assured him.

Kurt looked at him directly for the first time. He saw the fatigue and guilt written on his face. If he were weaker, he might have crumbled and run to him for love and a warm, strong hug. Instead, he just couldn't care less. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. I hurt you enough as it is," he said honestly.

"I appreciate it," Kurt responded. He moved to his side of the bed and set the painkillers and water on the side table. He drew the covers back and gave a light moan as the angle pulled at his muscles.

"Can I help you get in bed?" Blaine moved closer.

"That's okay. I devised a method of getting down with as little pulling as possible," Kurt assured him. He put his leg on the bed, thankful they had a low bed, and lowered his body down into a pushup position before easing down onto his front. He groaned at the pain the movements caused, but was glad he was down and didn't have to move until classes in the morning.

"Would you like me to pull up the blanket for you?" Blaine offered.

"No thank you, the weight of it will hurt," Kurt said honestly. The painkiller was obviously kicking in. The pills tended to loosen his tongue. "It hur's too mush as it is."

"Kurt?"

"S'okay, painkillers makes me talks funny," Kurt mumbled, looking toward Blaine. He could feel the blessed cloud descend on his body, finally beginning to ease his pain.

Blaine knelt next to the bed. "Kurt, baby, please forgive me."

As muzzy as he felt, he knew what was right and wrong and there was nothing right about accepting his forgiveness. There would be no forgiving or forgetting. Ever. Instead, he just stared, blinking slowly at him.

Blaine's golden eyes were dimmed to a light, dirty brown. "I can't believe what I did to you," he began, his voice low. "I barely remember it."

It took all Kurt had to not scoff and tell him how fucking lucky he was because Kurt could remember all too well and his dreams reminded him in living color every night.

"I read that letter again, you know, the next morning. God, I was so fucked up. The letter was obviously another attempt to hurt you, to stalk you, to threaten you. Jesus, Kurt. I'm so fucking sorry. I called you so many horrible names, the orders, that goddamn spoon," Blaine sobbed. "There will never be a day I don't regret…"

As he fell asleep, Blaine's words of regret played like white noise in the background of Kurt's exhaustion.

. . . . . . .

Time began to pass steadily for Kurt. Keeping his mind busy helped him forget his pain and Blaine. The first week after the assault was a myriad of pain, classes, pain, studying, pain, bedtime. Finals started at the end of that week and from there, Kurt was able to keep himself distracted enough to ignore the pain that was slowly starting to ease.

Blaine had managed to salvage his friendship with Wes, though Kurt didn't know what had been said to make it okay. Wes seemed satisfied that Blaine was sufficiently sorry. Kurt wasn't angry at him. He tried to think of it as one of his friends and though he couldn't say he'd forgive that easily, he couldn't blame him. Nick remained polite, but made no move to renew their friendship. The rest of their friends didn't know enough about the situation and Kurt didn't talk about it. Not to save Blaine, but to keep himself safe from people who might think he was guilty of adultery as Blaine had.

Jeff and he began looking for apartments during study sessions. They would help each other with that day's subject and then go online to find available apartments. He had agreed with his dad and friends that he shouldn't live in the city, not only because he would be easy to find, but because it was damn expensive.

Finally, early the last week of school, Jeff found a loft apartment in a Bushwick, a borough of Brooklyn. It was a half hour away from Parsons. The building was old and brick, there were two stories and the loft was took up the entire second floor. It was an unheard of one thousand square feet and the cost of rent was more than affordable. Kurt would have to get a part time job, but he would have a cushion of a couple of months to look for one that would fit his schedule. The date on the ad was several months old and when Kurt called, Cody, the landlord, said he'd had a hard time renting it because it needed some cosmetic work done. Kurt asked what that work was and after writing it down and thinking, he knew he'd be able to do it. Once he was settled in, his dad could probably come and give him a hand. They had to wait until he'd been gone a while. Nick found out that Ohio state law claimed that aiding a 'runaway' sub could come with a heavy fine. So, all of his friends and family would have to play dumb for a month or so. Knowing the landlord wanted to finally rent it out, Kurt negotiated a lower rent in exchange for the work that needed to be done. Cody, a man Kurt judged to be in his twenties or early thirties, laughed and eventually agreed. With the lowered rent, Kurt would have even more money available for a nest egg.

Kurt had a small list of errands to run that couldn't include Blaine finding out, so he went out while Blaine was in a late final. His stomach was in knots the entire time, but he didn't have a choice. It still hurt to be in a car, but it was worth it. He went to the public library at a time he agreed on with Cody and received the rental agreement, filled it out, signed it and faxed it back. That took nearly an hour so Kurt had to hurry to a store that could send a money-gram to Cody with the deposit amount. Once he received that confirmation, he set off once again. This time, he quickly closed out his bank account and drove a half hour to start an account at a national bank that Nick had found for him. Finally, he was done and he hurried back to the dorm where he took a painkiller and almost instantly fell asleep.

When he woke up, he realized Blaine would be home soon. Though he knew there was no reason to, he felt guilty for all the running around he'd done that day. Blaine had showed concern about him driving and had requested he ask one of their friends or himself to drive him. To make it up to himself and to 'show' Blaine he was still cooperative about California, he went into the kitchen and began sorting through dishes and knickknacks. Blaine didn't plan to move to California for another month, but he'd wanted to ship stuff out early after they'd secured an apartment.

When Blaine walked in, Kurt appeared like he'd been busy for several hours. They hadn't been talking much, though Blaine kept trying to get him to talk. Kurt stayed distant but polite. Blaine walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water.

"My dad found a buyer for the Navigator. He's looking for a small SUV like we talked about. He'll let us know when it happens," Kurt said quietly as he rolled a vase in newspaper.

He knew from talks with his dad that only boxes would be going with him, no furniture. That was fine with him. Especially now that he knew he'd have money to buy things on his own. It made the move even more exciting.

"That sounds great. Tell him I said thanks," Blaine said, a little too enthusiastic still at having a chance to talk with him.

"I will," Kurt replied.

"Thank you for packing, baby," he said quietly.

"You're welcome."

"I know you hate it, and I don't want you to feel insulted, but I really am so proud of you. My heart wants to scream out that you are my perfect boy, my beautiful, perfect good boy," Blaine said passionately. "I love you so much and even after everything I've done to you and put you through, you are still working so hard on this move and on your studies. I'm just so proud of you."

"Thank you," Kurt whispered. He wanted to turn and smack him. Shake him and scream at him that he's not a dog. He's told him so many times how demeaning and belittling that is, but he continues on with it. Kurt knows he can't say anything, though. He has to stay as 'good' as he could for just a while longer.

"Kurt, please. I can't feel you anymore. Can you please let me see how you are feeling? I miss our bond," Blaine said, his voice breaking.

Kurt had known this would come around at some point. He'd had his side of the bond locked tight for almost two weeks. There was only so long he could go before Blaine would want to 'snoop'. Through yoga, he'd learned how to project emotions and hide others. It wasn't easy, he hadn't done it in a while and he wouldn't be able to fool Blaine for long, but he could try. He had to hide the disgust and fury he still felt toward Blaine. He'd worried about Blaine feeling excitement for the move, but he figured that could work in his favor.

He turned to look at Blaine so he could measure his reaction and slowly opened his side of the bond. He pushed through fatigue, pain, and excitement as well as a good dose of fear. He had no intention of hiding the fear. Blaine deserved to feel that.

Immediately he felt Blaine's emotions were full of pride, regret, love, heartbreak and loneliness. And that damn feeling that screamed 'good boy' across the bond.

"Oh, baby," Blaine whispered, bringing his hand up to brush against Kurt's cheek. The bruise there and on his forehead were gone finally. It'd been hard to cover them up each day. "I wish you weren't still afraid of me."

Kurt wanted to smirk, but he kept his eyes wide as he pushed a tad bit more fear through in response. "I'm sorry," he murmured.

"No, god, Kurt, don't be sorry. I just, damn it, I deserve it, and I know that. I know it will take time to make things right between us, but I promise I will," he said with determination. "I know moving will help us both. I'm looking forward to it."

Kurt eased his emotions closed again to hide his gleeful sarcasm. "I know it'll help. I can't wait."