Kurt found himself lying in his and Blaine's bed just staring at the picture he had propped up on his nightstand. It was one he had taken himself of Blaine after he had fallen asleep with Lyra on their sofa while watching a Disney movie. Her whole body was curled up against Blaine's side and her head was resting on his chest as her tiny fist gripped his shirt tightly. Lyra was four in the picture and she had just opened her eyes when Kurt had snapped the picture. He loved the picture so much he had gone out the same day he had taken it and gotten it developed and bought a frame for it. The picture had been on his nightstand ever since.

Sighing to himself Kurt couldn't help but think of the chaos that had wrecked their sense of calm over the last several days. It had been a very trying and horrible week. Beginning the night he had been attacked, the night his daughter witnessed everything, and it was the night Blaine had lost it.

Of course the news and entertainment programs had picked up on the story almost immediately. It was a story about Blaine Anderson after all, the beloved musician and idol to millions around the world.

Kurt had known years earlier that once Blaine was able to dedicate himself to his art and when he started making demos it was only a matter of time before he achieved success and he had been right. Blaine had two wildly popular albums under his belt, not including his Christmas album, and currently he was busy working on his third one. After the media had picked up on the story of the attack things went insane and he and Kurt had had very little time to actually just be in each other's presence. They'd barely said two words to each other in days.

Kurt had been shocked and heartbroken over Blaine's outburst at the hospital; he was left practically speechless. It hurt him that Blaine could think he would ever risk the wellbeing of their daughter. He also knew though that when Blaine had erupted he was hurting and he had been scared, but that didn't mean it hurt any less.

To make matters worse, Blaine had been spending practically every minute he could at the studio. Once Kurt got the ok to go home two days after the attack, Blaine had been there with Anthony and a few other security guards to escort him home. His husband hadn't said much of anything to him and Lyra had been uncharacteristically quiet. In fact, Kurt hadn't interacted with him in days. He would spend the day waiting for any kind of call or text from Blaine, which was how it used to be before the attack. Blaine would usually always call him at least three times during breaks to tell him he loved him and to tell him something silly or nonsensical, not to mention how many texts he would get from him all of which would make him laugh and smile; always reminding how much he loved Blaine and how he always would and how much Blaine loved him. It was painful for Kurt to witness. This wasn't how his family worked. This was his family in pain.

Kurt had made sure to keep the televisions off in all the rooms of their home, because there was no telling what the media was doing with the story of what happened and he would not have his daughter subjected to that. They had her attending a private school and he hoped she wouldn't be exposed to any of the craziness when she went back. He had called the school his first day back home explaining that she would be staying home for a week due to the circumstances and arranged to have her assignments and readings picked up so she wouldn't fall behind.

The theatre company he'd been in talks of working/performing with in their latest production had sent their best and well wishes and he hoped they'd still be excited to work with him after the several weeks he'd need to rest up and heal. He still had his sketches he was working on for the new line he was working with his former boss and good friend Isabelle to create. Everything should be perfect but it wasn't. His family, his foundation had been rocked and he was in pain just thinking about it.

Kurt was brought back from his thoughts by a gentle knock on his bedroom door.

"Daddy?"

Kurt turned his head slowly, now facing the open door. His winced slightly, having three bruised ribs with one having a slight fracture made it almost too painful to move but he was managing.

Lyra stood there with an almost guilty expression on her face. Her soft brown curls were pulled back into a messy ponytail and her usually bright hazel eyes were dimmed and sad. His heart was aching just looking at her. A ten-year-old should not have a look like that on her or his face, especially not any child of his.

"What is it Princess?" He asked with a small smile.

She bit her bottom lip and twisted her hands together. Moments like these always amazed him because she looked so much like Blaine but her mannerisms were all Kurt.

"Do you need a drink or anything?" She asked in a soft voice.

Raising an eyebrow at her question he gently shook his head.

"No Princess, I'm fine."

Her face fell even more.

"Oh."

There was a pause between them and she started to turn to leave.

"I'm here if you need anything Daddy. Right down the hall just yell for—"

"How about you come over here and cuddle with me then?"

Lyra stopped and turned towards him again, still looking unsure.

"You're hurt Daddy."

Kurt opened his arms up and smiled at her.

"Which means I need some major cuddling from my beautiful baby girl. Now come on over here."

Lyra sent an uncertain look towards the open bedroom door but made her way over to Kurt. She crawled onto the bed and he pulled her close to him, letting her head rest just under his chin. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her forehead.

"I feel better already." He said with a light chuckle, but that made a bit of pain flare up his right side.

Lyra felt him wince and she tried to pull away.

"I'm hurting you Daddy."

Shaking his head he didn't let her go completely.

"No you're not sweetheart."

He saw her eyes quickly begin to fill with unshed tears as she tried to pull away from him completely.

"I am Daddy, I am. I'm gonna go be quiet in my room and leave you alone. I've hurt you too much already."

Confused, Kurt held her hand tightly in his and he took his other hand and tilted her face towards his, his eyes full of concern at how upset she looked.

"What are you talking about Lyra? How have you hurt me?"

"I wanted ice cream!" She said a bit too loudly as if it was the most obvious answer in the world and her lip quivered.

Realization hit Kurt as to what she was getting at, and it broke his heart. Shaking his head, he pulled her to him not stopping even when he felt the pain shoot up through his sides.

"Lyra look at me." He said firmly.

It took her a moment or two but she lifted her face up and rested her chin on her hands she clasped together just over his heart.

"I want to make one thing very clear to you young lady and I want to hear no arguing from you, do you understand me?"

She pouted her lips slightly but nodded in understanding.

"Good. Now, what happened to me was not your fault."

"But I—"

"I said no arguing Lyra." Lyra shut down at his words and he continued. "You didn't know that someone would try to hurt me and even try to hurt you. I wanted to take my Princess out for her favorite ice cream and a man ruined it, not you, ok? Don't you dare blame yourself for what happened. You want to know what I was thinking the whole time he was fighting me?"

Nodding gently she looked at him with more tears in her eyes. He reached out and ran his hand through her hair, she nuzzled her face against his hand and he smiled.

"I was thinking about how much I wanted to get this man away from you, and how I wanted to take you away from there and bring you back here and be with you and your Papa. If anything had happened to you Princess I would never ever have forgiven myself. You're my baby and I will do whatever it takes to protect you, even from people like that man. Do you understand me?"

Nodding again, she crawled in closer to him and gripped his arms tightly as she buried her face in his neck. He tightened his hold on her and rubbed her back gently.

"I love you so much, Daddy."

Kissing the top of her head he smiled gently but with a touch of sadness.

"I love you too, Princess. I love you too."

TBC