Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters. Those would be the property of Ryan Murphy, Fox and so on and so forth.

Author's Note:

Hey there, guys. I'm just going to say sorry that this chapter might not be the absolute best, but I am so very, very, very tired. ;P Alas, I wanted to give you something! Short Author's note, I know, but hey, more time for you to read Chapter 13!

-Casey

Reviewers:

no1hpfan – I know, poor Blaine. =(

klainediva – My heart broke writing it. ='( Man, I don't even know what Karofsky's gonna do anymore. Lol. Let's hope nothing too bad!

flamealchemist15 – True that. Karofsky might just have something up his sleeve. ;P That jerk, right?

WiseGirl747 – As you should, he definitely deserves it!

ASiriuslyGleekyTimeLord – Let's hope Kurt's smart. ;P Lol.

miss jayne76 – I'm very happy to hear that, thank you! =D

Klaine Lover – Man, maybe we should get Kurt some Sai Swords and go like crazy ninja on Karofsky…that would be expected, right? Lol.

riker-rocky-ross-lynchlover795 – Thank you as always. =) I'm glad to hear that I'm writing it well. As long as it came off as creepy as I felt writing it, then I succeeded. Lol.

candylockwood – Thank you so much for reading it! You know, there's a lot of fics…the majority of them where Blaine's parents really aren't the nicest and in this story I just had to! Lol. I couldn't make all this awful stuff happen to him and give him horrible parents, too! Lol.

LunaLongbottom – He really is horridly creepy! The First Time…was by far one of the best episodes in a long while for me, I enjoyed it immensely…and putting my story aside I was happy to see Max Adler back as Karofsky, because in real life, I grew to sort of like Karofsky in an 'I feel bad for you' way…lol. But maybe it's because I adore Max Adler…he seems like such a sweetheart. Lol.

MiaLawrence – I caught your kisses, darlin'! Lol. After I get off work, I have to unwind, I've never been one for coming home and going straight to sleep…except for when I have a very strenuous audition or rehearsal for a show or something, then I just PASS OUT. Lol. My week's been hectic with work, but next week should be a bit easier. I hope your week got better! Much love!

Guardian Fox – Yeah, Kurt should have, but I guess I have to make it a little OOC to keep it suspenseful, I dunno, lol. Sometimes my ideas don't really make sense and half the time I write this on little sleep. Lol. I agree with your criticism, Kurt would definitely run to an adult if he wasn't being slightly OOC. -.^

Starsleeper – That's a wonderful compliment, thank you very much!

Phamy – A fact that I left out that hopefully might become clearer in this chapter, lol. Blaine definitely needs a therapist to heal, I agree.

AisforAwesome – Aww, well…here's more! Lol.

stupidamericanidioms91 – I'm glad to bring you more. =)

angel-hime96 – I'm hoping it won't be for too long, really. By the by, it's NEVER too early for Christmas songs in my opinion. I love Christmas and have been all over those new Glee Christmas songs! Lol.

GLEEKfreak101 – I hope he is. Lol. He needs to be caught.

gleek101Obsessed – I'm glad I have you so hooked! It makes me feel like I did something right. ;D Lol.

GreggoAddict – I know, I'm evil for making him say that…=( He is incredibly traumatized. I'm hoping you're liking where it's all going! ;D

tomboy2012 – That definitely gave Kurt a good idea as to how messed up Blaine really is. But you're right, as long as they're together they can withstand anything. ;D Aww, you're too sweet. I enjoy the writing and you guys help motivate me to do it. I try not to work myself too hard. ;D

Thanks for those wonderful, wonderful reviews guys. They truly mean a lot to me and are the driving force of my updates. ^.^ As always, I love to read what you have to say.

Chapter 13. "Normalcy"

Kurt strode down the McKinley hallway headed straight for his locker not stopping to speak to anyone; he really wasn't in the mood. It had been a week since the phone call from the creep who took Blaine. As soon as Kurt had calmed Blaine down enough to get him to sleep that evening, he promptly took his phone down to the police station to have the call traced. The number had lead to a pay-as-you-go phone that had been discarded in a trashcan outside of a McDonalds. As a result, the police still had no leads as to who the hell this creep was, but Kurt knew that something had to be done and quickly. He had been trying for days to pinpoint the voice on the phone. Something about it had seemed familiar, but it sounded as if the voice had been projected through some kind of a manipulator. Smart, but terribly inconvenient.

In the past week, Blaine had been to see his therapist. Kurt didn't go with him which had Blaine extremely nervous. He wasn't keen on the idea of opening up to a complete stranger and although he didn't verbally communicate with the therapist, Kurt found that Blaine felt a bit better once the session was over. The one positive that had come from this was that Blaine was getting slightly less hard on himself. He seemed to be striving to get better which Kurt was elated for. He saw more of Blaine's old self recently than he had since he had been found. Things were by no means back to normal; there had been a few instances where Kurt was reminded at how traumatized Blaine truly was.

The main issue was that Blaine constantly asked Kurt if he was angry at him, which had started occurring almost every day since Kurt had snapped at him. Only once more had Blaine attempted to seek that Kurt punish him. Kurt had been talking with Blaine and had raised his voice in frustration over the police not being able to trace the call. Without it even being directed at Blaine, it still had him reacting in a horrible way. Kurt had been sitting on the bed with Blaine and he had attempted to once again get over Kurt's lap. Before he had gotten very far, Kurt stopped him and said, "Blaine, you do not deserve to be punished, ever, do you understand me? More importantly, never by me. So you don't need to try and ask me for it, OK? I love you and would never even contemplate laying a hand on you like that."

Kurt still couldn't believe that Blaine even thought that he would or even could spank him out of anger. It terrified him to even fathom why Blaine thought that he could ever do something like that. Whatever Blaine's kidnapper had done to him that Kurt didn't have knowledge about had his stomach in knots. He couldn't imagine Blaine actually being punished in this way by someone. It made him sick at the very thought of it but unfortunately it was reality and it had happened whether Kurt wanted it to, or in this case really wished it hadn't.

Ever since then, Blaine never asked for punishment again and wasn't constantly reminding Kurt how he was too damaged to be with him and that he didn't deserve to even be around people. The other issue was that Blaine was trying so hard for him. He had written to Kurt that he didn't want to disappoint him and was trying to get back to normal for him. He had to keep reminding Blaine that he was the person to focus on. "Blaine," he had said. "You need to be strong for yourself and get back to normal for you. I'm happy you don't want to disappoint me but you never have in the past, so why would that start now? We'll get through this together like we always do and everything will be all right."

With this whole "getting back to normal" kick that he was on, Blaine had made the terrifying decision to return to Dalton and today was his first day back. This is what had Kurt highly anxious at the moment. No one had forced Blaine; it had been his decision and even after his endless insistence, Kurt had still not warmed up to the idea. Blaine wasn't ready to face the world yet, but as he had said…well written…he wanted to get back to some sense of normalcy and left no room for argument. Kurt remembered being there for the discussion with Blaine and his parents about it.

"Blaine honey, are you sure you want to go back to school? Your father and I would perfectly understand if you wanted to take more time off. You've been through a traumatizing experience and we really don't feel that you're ready for that step yet."

Kurt, Blaine and Mr. and Mrs. Anderson sat at the Anderson dinner table and were discussing Blaine's random request to return to school. He had spoken with his therapist about it who pretty much shut him down at the whole idea. Blaine had argued against it and the therapist had relented with one condition: Blaine had to speak with his parents about it.

Blaine began to write in his notebook which was really beginning to fill up. Kurt made a mental note that he had to get him a new one if this silence was going to persist. Ever since the phone call, he hadn't spoken a word since; not to anyone. He slid the notebook out for everyone around the table to read.

I understand your concerns. I'm worried too, but I can't stay locked away in some tower like Rapunzel. Kurt can't be with me 24 hours a day and neither can you. I'd feel a lot safer if I was back at Dalton with everyone… where there is always someone around.

Kurt understood where he was coming from. There would be sometime when Blaine would be forced to be alone and Kurt could understand that it would terrify him and above all else, Blaine was right. Kurt had school, his parents had to work and they wouldn't be able to keep him safe for all 24 hours of the day.

"Do you want to be around a lot of people right now, Blaine? I mean, I walk down the hall to turn on a light and you nearly jump ten feet in the air. Dalton has so many people that I don't think you're ready to take on right now…" Mr. Anderson stated finally expressing his view on the situation.

Blaine once again took the notebook back and wrote another message.

It scares me. It truly does…but I feel that I need to get back to a normal life. The longer that I'm away from people, the more prone I am to be distant from everyone. Maybe being around more familiar faces could be good for me. I'll never know until I try and if I don't try at all, how am I supposed to heal?

"I just don't know," Mr. Anderson spoke again scratching at his graying hair.

"Blaine, honey…I think it's an awful idea," Kurt voiced quietly, staring at his hands.

You too, Kurt? Blaine wrote. He looked up from the notebook and straight at his boyfriend with a frown. He had hoped that at least Kurt would be on board for this, but it seemed he was alone in this.

"Sweetheart, it's only been a week since you've been home, I think you need more time to heal. I don't think you should take on more than you can handle. You've been through a lot. I just don't think it's time yet," Kurt replied.

I can't be alone. I need to be around someone. What if I'm home alone and they come back to get me? At Dalton, at least there are people everywhere and no chance for me to be taken anywhere.

Kurt sighed. "I understand, sweetie, I really do but I just think being around so many people might not be healthy for you."

Are you mad at me, Kurt?

Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand. "No, I can't be mad at you for being scared. You have every right to be. I just don't feel comfortable with you being at Dalton when I won't be there to protect you," Kurt stated sadly.

I'll have Jeff and Thad and all of the other guys at Dalton. I'm really sorry; I just think it might be the best thing. I'm behind in schoolwork enough as it is and I just think it might help me get my life back, I don't know.

Kurt closed his eyes and breathed. He couldn't tell Blaine to stay home at his house where he would be extremely vulnerable, but he also couldn't say he was wild about the idea.

"How about this? We'll take you back to Dalton on Monday and we'll see how you do. If for any reason it doesn't work out, we're doing homeschooling for the rest of the year, deal?" Mr. Anderson offered firmly.

Deal. Blaine scrawled with an uneasy smile.

Kurt sighed and let his head fall against his locker. Not being with Blaine at Dalton right now was killing him. What if Blaine was holed up somewhere freaking out and Kurt wasn't there to protect him? He knew it was a bad idea from the get-go. Anything and everything could go wrong. He had wanted to be positive with this whole thing, but he couldn't. He wanted to believe that Blaine was brave enough to take on anything, but realistically not even Blaine could handle everything. No matter how good of an actor he could be, he couldn't be handling this situation without any issues. Kurt's phone buzzed pulling him out of his state of worry.

Just wanted to let you know that I just got dropped off. I think I'm going to be OK. I'll keep in touch. *Blaine*

Blaine had received a new phone from his parents and had agreed to text Kurt throughout the day. This text helped Kurt relax slightly. He still felt extremely anxious about the whole thing, but maybe this would help ease the knot in his stomach for the time being. Today was going to be grueling. He couldn't wait for the day to be over so that he could go check on Blaine. He didn't want to be so smothering, but Blaine seemed to be OK with it, even glad for it.

Wonderful, sweetheart. Please keep in touch as often as you can. I love you! I'm still coming over after school, right? ~KurtBornThisWay~

Yes, please. I love you, too. More than anything. *Blaine*

Kurt smiled at Blaine's quick response and tried to stop worrying so much. If he kept on like this, he was going to give himself a heart attack. He had just grabbed the last book that he would be needing out of his locker when a hand reached out from next to him and slammed his locker shut. He whirled around to face no one else but Karofsky.

"Dave," Kurt greeted in monotone.

"Hey there, Kurt. I was just seeing if we could catch up?"

Kurt felt a little uneasy. He still felt an odd sort of feeling when he was around Dave. It had been since that day in the hospital when he saw the way that he had looked at Blaine and also the fact that Kurt couldn't get him to leave.

"I'd love to, but I have to get to class," Kurt explained and tried to walk away, but Dave blocked his path.

"Why are you acting so strange around me?"

"Dave, I'm sorry, but I guess I'm still a little uneasy given our past, you know?" Kurt replied attempting to find a good excuse for his uneasiness.

"Oh, well I was hoping we could put that behind us," Dave started, making sure Kurt's couldn't sidestep around him. "Given the fact that you know the biggest secret about me, I thought that sort of, I don't know, made us closer?"

Kurt smiled awkwardly. "It makes us something, I suppose."

"I was wondering how Blaine was doing. Is he pulling through all right?" Dave asked.

That's when Kurt's suspicion grew more. Why was Dave so ridiculously preoccupied with Blaine? He could understand and appreciate the fact that Blaine is wonderful and everyone should be concerned about him, but that was the weirdness of the matter. Even Kurt's closest friends didn't dwell on it this much. A comment or question here and there about Blaine, sure but to mention it every single time was simply not right.

"He's doing better," Kurt responded flatly. "Given what happened to him. I'm hoping he's on his way to talking to me, soon."

"Talking, huh? Hasn't really said a word, has he?" Dave replied with an odd smile.

"Not so much, but I'm hoping that that's going to change."

"Huh," Was Dave's response and with that, he sauntered away with no goodbye. Kurt watched as Dave headed in the complete opposite direction of his first class. He silently followed towards the entrance of the school and watched as Dave got into his car and drove off towards the school gates. Something was up with him and Kurt had an extremely bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It was that meeting with Dave that landed Kurt in the police station that afternoon. He told Mr. Schue that he needed to be excused from Glee today due to his commitment with Blaine. Mr. Schue had understood wholeheartedly and told Kurt to give Blaine his well wishes. He took the sheet music for the group assignment and with that, left directly for the police station. He chewed at his nails as he drove up and parked in visitor's parking. He couldn't be wrong; even if Dave wasn't the main assailant, he at least knew something. He was sure of it.

Blaine drove up past the main gate of Dalton and headed straight for student parking. It took some convincing but his parents allowed him to drive himself. It was going to be that or take a school shuttle and he preferred to drive. It gave him some time alone to think, plus the chances of Karofsky or Azimio stealing him out of a moving car were pretty slim to none. He felt good being back in his car, plus he had spent the last month or so of his life not being his own person. He really needed to be granted at least a smidgeon of independence. It took convincing to even get his mother to let him cut his own meat for the past week. He really didn't know what she was afraid of: the big bad knife might attack him? He worried enough on his own without needing additional concern from others.

He had just finished his last text to Kurt as he locked his car and made his way towards Dalton's main building. He clutched his messenger bag tightly to try to ease the nausea in his stomach. He knew he had to do this to get back to a normal life and he wanted so badly to not disappoint Kurt. He had to make this work; with one hand he straightened his tie for the fiftieth time out of nerves as he stood at the main entrance. He took a deep breath, pulled open the door and prepared himself to return to Dalton once again.

The faculty had been notified of Blaine's return and had been filled in on every aspect of the situation. They had already been aware by the news and gossip floating around the school, but they had only recently become aware of his mental state since he had been found. They also knew that his return may not be permanent due to his current state of social phobia so everything needed to be handled delicately.

Blaine caught quite a few gazes in his general direction, but he tried not to focus on them. No one's looking at you, just keep walking, he kept repeating to himself as he walked at a brisk pace.

"Blaine!"

A voice echoed from down the hall, not surprisingly scaring the absolute hell out of him. He dropped his bag, causing a couple of books and pens to fly out and spill across the floor. He turned around slowly to identify who had shouted his name: it was Thad.

He came jogging up with an apologetic smile and started to help Blaine who had been frantically placing the spilled contents back into his bag.

"Sorry, dude, I'm just happy to see you back safe and sound. It was a lonely summer without you," Thad explained with a sheepish grin.

Blaine smiled slightly in response and got up from the floor once all of his belongings had once again been properly stored away in his bag. He and Thad began walking together in silence. The silence became a little too much and Thad once again began talking to ease the awkward tension.

"So, how are you feeling?"

He shrugged in response.

"You're a bit quiet, I mean...I guess I understand given the circumstances. Say, now that you're back, The Warblers will be unstoppable! We are a wreck without you and had absolutely no hope to even place at Sectionals, but now we are so back in the game!"

Blaine had been used to how Thad liked to ramble but at the moment he was feeling rather overwhelmed. He was just trying to get back on his feet; leading The Warblers to Sectionals was something he sadly didn't think that he could do as much as he wanted to. He wasn't even talking at the current time, how was he supposed to be expected to sing?

Thad had apparently been waiting eagerly for a response while Blaine was lost in his thought process.

"So how about it, Blaine? Ready to lead us back to victory again?"

Blaine sighed and took out his notebook and a pen. Thad looked on in confusion as he wrote down his message. He looked back up with a sincere expression of apology and handed Thad the notebook.

"What do you mean you can't talk, Blaine? What—"

Blaine placed a finger at his lips signaling Thad to settle down a moment as he wrote down more to his message.

Thad, I haven't said a word since it happened. I'm literally only here for the day because I insisted. If anything goes wrong, I'm being withdrawn for the rest of the semester. I haven't even been assigned back to my old room. My parents didn't even want me to come back let alone board again. Right now I'm just hoping nothing goes wrong so that I can stay for school at least and get things back to normal. Talking again would be a great start, but I'm not quite there yet…I hope you understand, man.

Thad read the message with his eyes softening at the words. He looked up after several sections and suddenly pulled Blaine into a tight hug. At first he tensed at being locked in someone's arms who wasn't Kurt, but relaxed when he reminded himself that it was just Thad.

"I understand, dude," Thad started, letting Blaine go. "I can't imagine what you've been through. Although I'm a bit let down at the no talking thing. Just so we're clear, don't think of it as a negative. Work on what you have to do for you so we can get our old Blaine back. Listen, I'll give the other guys a heads up not to bombard you too much and kind of fill them in on what's going on with you, is that cool? I mean, I don't want you to have to explain this too many times…"

Blaine smiled appreciatively and Thad took it as a go ahead.

"All right, well, it's great to see you back again, buddy. We missed you and Dalton really hasn't been the same without you," Thad said as a farewell and took off towards his first class leaving Blaine unaccompanied. He didn't mind too awful much; he needed a moment to catch his breath. If one person made him feel bombarded, how was he going to make it through the day?

Just take it one step at a time… He told himself as he began to walk towards his first class hoping that he could get through the day in one piece.

Mostly the day had gone by all right. Thad had done a good job of letting everyone know the situation and his old friends greeted him and talked to him, but nothing too suffocating.

At lunch was when the next slip up occurred. Blaine had made his way to a back table in the dining hall and set his tray down. He began to pick at the chicken when a few of the Warbler's sat down to join him.

"Blaine! You're back!" Trent exclaimed with a loud squeal.

He responded with a smile and nod at Trent.

"Oh don't worry, the other guys filled me in. They were the lucky ones who had classes with you and got to see you before I did. I think we have English together. Last period, Mr. Graham?"

Blaine nodded in response as both Nick and Jeff came over to the table, trays in hand.

"Chicken again? Do we have a steak shortage or something, or are they telling us we're too fat to eat red meat?" Jeff joked as the pair sat down.

"Dalton's slacking," Nick responded in agreement as he took a bite of the chicken, "But not too badly; it's still pretty damn good."

"Man, both of you just be glad that you're not stuck eating public school food," David joined in as he took one of the seats next to Blaine. "Lord knows if the meat they eat even came from an animal at one time."

Blaine smiled to himself. He'd missed the stupid lunch banter between all of his friends. He had seen them a few times over the summer, but most of his time had been taken up by Kurt and his McKinley friends and of course being abducted for the tail end of summer.

Blaine apparently missed something while he was lost in his own thoughts, because David had placed a hand on his back and asked him if he was OK. He gasped as David's hand made contact with the welts that were still healing on his back and all but fell out of the chair as he abruptly stood up, causing his chair to topple over as a result with a loud crash. Silence filled the dining hall as the students looked over to see the cause of the disturbance.

"Blaine, I'm so sorry," David apologized as he stood up to make sure he was all right. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Order was beginning to restore throughout the room as Blaine took a few deep breaths and motioned for David to sit back down as he went through his bag to retrieve his notebook. He turned the chair back upright and sat back down as he began to write out an explanation to David. He handed it over with a small smile that he hoped conveyed how sorry he was for how he had reacted.

Dude, I'm so sorry. I kind of get lost in my thoughts and it scared me a little. You did nothing wrong, I'm just super on edge. There's still some stuff healing on my back and you couldn't have known that. I'll try to focus a bit more so this isn't an issue again, we cool?

David still looked a bit broken up about it, but nudged Blaine very lightly on his upper arm with his own. "We cool, buddy."

The rest of lunch proceeded without incident and everything seemed to flow a lot smoother to which Blaine was grateful. Everyone talked over their ideas for Sectionals even asking Blaine for some input whether he'd be leading them or not. They made it clear that whether or not he competed didn't mean he was out of The Warblers; in their mind, he was still their lead soloist on temporary leave. They proceeded to tread lightly around him but not overly so that would result in making him feel like an outsider. The inclusion despite his odd behavior made his return feel so much more at ease and he was almost sure that the day was going to go by all right and that he was on the path to getting back into some sort of a routine.

As soon as the last bell rang signaling the end of the Dalton school day, Blaine stood up from his desk in English and was amazed that he had gotten through the day without a complete nervous breakdown or major freak out. Thad and David had been little setbacks, but it was nothing that he couldn't overcome. He knew that he wasn't in the clear yet, but he proved that he could get through at least one school day and to him, that was a major accomplishment. Whilst things didn't feel quite normal yet, they still felt better to get back to rather than hide out in his room excluded from the world.

He was walking towards the parking lot and was in the middle of sending Kurt his end of school text when it happened. Since McKinley got out earlier than Dalton, Kurt would be able to receive the text and give a quick response in return. He read over the message that Kurt had sent him an hour ago saying that he left Glee early and had something he had to do before he came over when Blaine had begun to feel a sense of uneasiness. He stopped in his tracks and looked around. There were a couple of people around, but no one out of the ordinary. Not now, Blaine. You're almost done with this day, just get to the car and it'll all be over; just calm down. He lectured himself.

He placed his phone in the side pocket of his messenger bag so that he could get to his car at a quicker pace, but before he could take one step, he felt someone grab him and a hand was placed tightly over his mouth to silence him from screaming.

Evil I am, I know. I just had to make a cliffhanger here. We haven't had a really good one of those in a while. Lol. This is definitely another late night chapter, so I'm sorry if it's not as good as everyone hoped, but I wanted to give you something. ;P So, what are our thoughts, guys?

-Casey