We Dreamed a Dream

by CminorAdagio

Blaine made a promise to Kurt all those years ago to always protect him; they made plans together, and they made dreams. But then everything changed. Six years later, as Carole Hudson drives to work, she makes a heartbreaking, yet fateful discovery which will change not only her life, but her family's lives forever.

8. Chapter 8

Aargh, apologies for the looong wait between chapters, but as a result I have a looooong chapter for you wonderful readers. Thank you for all you lovely people who review, favourite and follow, and encourage me to keep writing, even though in a hectic life there are always so many things to do. Kudos to the people who noticed my mistake in the authors note at the end of the last chapter: yes, it's meant to be settling into the Hummel's home - not Anderson. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter, even if it is a little long. Once I started writing it, I couldn't stop. Please review, favourite and follow :) Also, I do not, unfortunately, own glee.

Kurt sat there for a while, one hand interlinked with Blaine's, his thumb stroking soothingly over the cold, quite calloused skin of the younger boy's hand. Kurt's left hand drifted almost idly through Blaine's wild hair, not caring about the sweat that clung to each individual strand, but instead noting how soft it was without the gel, despite the consistent tangles. He had been so used to seeing Blaine with meticulously gelled down hair when they were younger, and although being best friends with the other boy for so long meant he had glimpsed Blaine with his curls free of their gelled entrapment, that had only been on rare occasions. Blaine's curls had certainly never been as long as they were now, however Kurt was of course aware that living on the streets with no food or money meant an absence of luxuries such as hair cuts. Plus, with everything the poor boy had been through, Kurt knew that a trip to the barber's shop would have been and still was the last thing on his friend's mind. It only served to remind Kurt of the vast difference between how his and Blaine's lives had turned out. He wondered somewhat bitterly if things would have been different if Blaine's dad hadn't been such a violent, bullying, selfish … asshole. It was a measure of how angry Kurt was that he swore internally – he hardly ever swore. Yet seeing his best friend; the sweetest, kindest, most considerate person he had ever known, lying in a hospital bed, mainly as a result of the pathway Jonathan Anderson had cruelly set before his son, was truly horrific in Kurt's eyes. He so desperately wanted an answer to the question he had been asking himself for years: why did bad things happen to good people?

Kurt glanced down at Blaine and smiled slightly upon seeing the younger boy's eyelids drooping heavily due to his gentle ministrations. He knew there was no way he could claim to understand what Blaine was going through, but he did know that plenty of sleep made a wound heal quicker. Although he was aware that Blaine's emotional scars would take a very long time to heal simply from Blaine's heart-breaking emotional breakdown with him earlier, Kurt could see clearly just from Blaine's face that he was in a lot of physical pain too, particularly whenever he shifted the lower half of his body. Kurt didn't even want to think about what Blaine's attacker had done to him there.

They hadn't spoken a great deal since their conversation earlier but after years apart, Kurt was simply content to sit with his greatest friend and provide whatever comfort was needed. Blaine also seemed relatively calm around him, for which he was extremely thankful. He didn't think he could bear the prospect of Blaine fearing him. Yet the younger boy even let Kurt touch him, something Kurt had heard and read was a fear for many rape victims.

Blaine had almost drifted off again when the door opened to reveal Burt, Carole and a middle-aged male doctor, wearing the signature white coat and carrying a clipboard and fountain pen. Kurt recalled the last time he was in this hospital with Blaine, those few short hours before his best friend was literally forcibly dragged away from him for six long, painful years. At the slight noise of the door handle being twisted, Blaine's eyes shot open, and he automatically tried to sit up, only to let out a small whimper of pain as the needle connecting the drip in his right hand jabbed his skin painfully, and his left arm, still wrapped tightly in the cast throbbed angrily. Kurt saw the moment Blaine caught sight of the middle-aged doctor, because the younger boy's eyes grew wild and full of fear, like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a lorry. He hadn't got the strength or the physical ability to get up and run, and as a result, Blaine's breathing quickened in panic, his voice eliciting small whimpers.

The doctor, to his credit, seemed to take the situation in his stride, approaching the bed calmly, his pen poised on the clipboard. "Hello, Blaine." He said in a perfectly pleasant voice, but even so, seeing Blaine's distress just roused the desire in Kurt to just seize the middle-aged medicine man by his laboratory coat's lapels and toss him unceremoniously out of the room. "I'm Doctor Carlton. My colleagues and I have been taking care of you whilst you've been unconscious, but now that you're back with us in the land of the living, I'm afraid we need to complete a few tests, and some repeats of a few examinations we have already carried out – just to make sure."

Kurt hated with a passion how cold and clinical the doctor was making this sound, especially as with every word the man uttered, Blaine tensed and backed up to the other side of the bed just a little bit more, obviously determined to put as much distance between him and the middle-aged male as possible. Kurt wanted to cry at the heart-wrenching whimpers Blaine was making; the warm feeling of sleep had been completely eradicated to be replaced by fear and memories of an unimaginably traumatising experience. Kurt kept a firm grip on Blaine's hand, squeezing it every so often to try and eke some comfort into the smaller boy. Blaine seemed too far gone to even acknowledge it however, and he began to slide his knees up towards his chest, curling himself into a tiny ball, looking as if he just wanted to disappear from the world and never return. Again, Kurt was very thankful that he had a firm grip on the younger boy's hand, because he didn't want Blaine to disappear again… ever. He watched as Blaine closed his eyes, muttering a shaky, but unintelligible mantra over and over again. The only words Kurt could distinguish were 'no more' and 'please stop', and he could feel tears begin to creep up on him. He didn't like this at all; he hated how broken Jonathan Anderson and Blaine's attacker had made the smaller boy, and he just didn't know what to do, or how to deal with it. Kurt turned his desperate gaze towards his dad.

However, Burt did not seem to even need the prompt from his son to do something, because he was already crossing the room towards the cot, taking a seat next to Kurt and gently reaching out for Blaine's shoulder. At the contact, Blaine let out a small cry, his eyes flying open and his shoulder jerking away from Burt's touch.

"It's okay, bud." Kurt heard his dad soothe, but he only had eyes for Blaine, who still looked wide-eyed and terrified. "You're okay… you're safe, see? Look to your right, buddy. We're here – the people who love and care about you are here. Kurt's sitting right next to you holding your hand, and Burt… well… I'm sitting here talking to you right now."

Kurt could feel his breathing going slightly off-sync; a sign that he was panicking, and he hastily blinked back any lingering tears in preparation for when Blaine eventually turned. The younger boy had clearly heard Burt's gentle words, but currently had his eyes on the white bed sheets. His eyes flickered to the right occasionally as if wanting to turn to look, but then they fell again as he lost his nerve. Kurt needed to do something… anything to try and ease his friend's pain. It was heart-breaking how Blaine's previously calm mood could change so suddenly the moment a stranger walked in, although Kurt was beginning to wonder whether it was because the doctor was a man. Blaine's attacker after all was a man, and Kurt couldn't blame his friend for reacting in such a way. The younger boy was clearly trying to gather the strength to follow Burt's instructions, but he was just so scared. Gently, Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand again, hoping that some familiar contact would put the smaller boy at more ease.

"I'm right here, Blaine." He whispered tenderly. "Remember, just a few minutes ago I was sitting here with you? And before that, we were talking. I told you I wasn't going anywhere, and I meant it. I'm still here."

Kurt watched intently as Blaine bit his lip and slowly, ever so slowly lifted his frightened, red-rimmed hazel eyes to meet his own. Kurt forced a small smile, "Hey there." He whispered, resuming the stroking of the back of Blaine's hand with his thumb.

Blaine's chin trembled in shame, "I'm sorry." He whispered back in a small, scared voice.

"Don't be sorry for being afraid, bud." Burt spoke up, and Blaine angled his head to look at the man as well. "You have every right to be scared."

Blaine dropped his gaze back to the bed sheets, not looking convinced, yet at least appearing slightly calmer.

"But you have nothing to be afraid of with Doctor Carlton here, buddy." Burt continued softly and patiently. "He only wants what is best for you. He wants to help take away the pain and for that he needs to carry out a few tests."

"When you were brought in Blaine, you had quite severe bleeding to your anus, so quite possibly I think you have an anal fissure or tear as a result of what your assailant did to you." Doctor Carlton added in as gentle a tone as he could. "I need to see it to treat it otherwise you may develop an infection and then you'll feel even worse."

Blaine had his head down so none of them could see his eyes, but Kurt spotted a solitary tear dribbling slowly down the younger boy's cheek. He made no reaction or any indication that he had heard the doctor other than a slight shake of the head. Kurt wanted to leave the room and cry but he couldn't. He couldn't leave Blaine; not when he was like this.

"It's the last bit of the process, bud." Burt stated softly. "You broke your left arm in a couple of places," he said, looking to Doctor Carlton for confirmation because he had never been particularly good at understanding medical information. When the middle-aged man smiled in agreement and nodded, Kurt heard his dad continue, "But that's been put in a cast and should heal in time. You had quite a drastic fever when you first arrived, but that drip that your right hand's connected to is helping with that, so in a couple of day's that won't be a problem any more…"

Kurt felt overwhelming gratitude to his father for being there, and for bothering to find out all of the medical details from the doctors so that he could help in whatever way he could. Perhaps his dad had foreseen that Blaine would be frightened of Doctor Carlton and so had learnt the information in preparation for seeing Blaine again. Kurt didn't really care about the reason for Burt's newfound knowledge of medicine; he was just glad his dad was there, because he didn't think he could cope with this on his own just yet. He would give it a damn good try though.

"We'll also give you some tablets which will numb the pain you're feeling from those bruises." Doctor Carlton added, pointing to the array of purple and yellow bruises littering Blaine's arms, face and neck, and those were only the ones that were visible. "Because your quite malnourished, and haven't had much food in your stomach for a while, we'll give you a mild painkiller – anything stronger may make you sick and you'll feel even more poorly."

Kurt was still watching Blaine for any reaction but he still sat there, his head bowed in what seemed to be, shame, and another tear was following in the path of the other one.

"So Doctor Carlton just needs to examine you and see if he's right about the… um…" Burt trailed off, his expanse of medical knowledge spent.

"- Anal tear." The middle-aged doctor provided helpfully.

Blaine still did not respond, and perhaps Doctor Carlton took that as a good thing because a few seconds later he started towards the cot again. However, just as he reached for the bed sheets, attempting to lift them off Blaine, the boy screamed out in utter terror, practically launching himself away from the man, towards Kurt, who automatically wrapped his arms around his younger friend protectively.

"Stop it!" Kurt snapped fiercely at the man, not caring that Doctor Carlton was just doing his job, and that he was probably being extremely unfair. He was just so angry, and anyone who caused Blaine any distress at this point was his sworn enemy. "Can't you see that you're scaring him and making everything worse? Just stop it!"

At his furious tone, Kurt felt Blaine flinch slightly, but thankfully he didn't move away; he just buried his head into Kurt's shoulder, seeking comfort which Kurt knew only he could provide. They were best friends; they had depended on each other and that didn't just go away because of a six year gap. Kurt tightened his arms around Blaine and stroked up and down the other boy's back soothingly.

"Bud, he needs to do it." His dad told him gently. When Kurt looked up at him, he could see that Burt looked no happier about this than he did, but as always, he was the voice of reason. "He needs to treat Blaine otherwise he'll get an infection. If the infection gets worse then… especially with his malnourishment and poor immune system then we could… lose him."

Everyone heard Blaine release a small cry into Kurt's shoulder, and Kurt's heart broke. Blaine had heard what could potentially happen to him, but he was still too scared to allow anything to be done about it. He didn't know what to do. If he let Doctor Carlton look after Blaine then he would be betraying his best friend, but if he didn't, then he could lose Blaine. And he had just promised himself that he would never let that happen again. Kurt looked despairingly at his dad, and then, though he didn't know why, at Carole.

He was even more surprised when an expression of realisation passed over Carole's anxious face, and she turned to Doctor Carlton, who had backed away from the bed, a little bewildered at Kurt's outburst.

"Bob," she said quietly, and Kurt suddenly realised, although he knew it should have occurred to him before, that Carole worked there; she obviously knew this doctor; she was his colleague. "I mean no disrespect to you, you know that, but isn't there anyone else… a woman perhaps… on duty at the moment?"

Doctor Carlton's face looked suddenly grim as he muttered back, so that Kurt had to strain to hear, "There was a school coach crash on the highway; both Sharon and Jill are assigned to the poor kids in the crash."

Kurt didn't know who Sharon or Jill were, but he assumed they were the two female duty doctors on the children's ward.

Carole seemed to think for a moment before she replied quietly, "Could I make a suggestion?"

Kurt did not hear much more of the conversation because they dropped their voices and Blaine was quietly sniffing, clearly trying to hide the fact that he was crying.

"It's okay, Blaine." Kurt whispered to his best friend softly. "I won't let anyone hurt you. It's okay."

Burt reached over and patted Blaine's curls comfortingly, looking just as miserable about this situation as Kurt. Kurt looked up at his dad but all the man could give was a weak smile of reassurance.

Eventually, Doctor Carlton and Carole finished conversing, and Carole stepped forwards towards the bed, kneeling down between Kurt and Burt's chairs so that she could meet Blaine's eyes. Kurt looked quizzically at Carole who flashed him a brief smile that told him that she had the situation under control. He trusted his almost step-mother and so nodded, gently releasing Blaine so that he would have to look at Carole. However, Blaine caught sight of another person and lowered his eyes by default.

"Hi, sweetie," Carole said softly, smiling kindly at Blaine. "It's me… Carole… do you remember me? I was with you in the ambulance when you woke up briefly?"

Blaine still didn't raise his eyes, but he seemed to recognise the voice, and did not seem too troubled by her presence. Slowly, he nodded, which Kurt thought was certainly progress.

"Good." Carole praised in the same gentle tone, and Kurt could suddenly see why she was a nurse. She was just really good with people. "I'm just going to introduce myself properly, okay?" she smiled encouragingly. "I'm Carole Hudson, though I'm soon to be Carole Hudson-Hummel, because I'm engaged to Burt here." She said nodding gently towards Burt who flashed her a loving smile.

Blaine's wide eyes flew up to meet Burt's as if to check that this was true and Kurt watched as his dad nodded in confirmation.

"I'm telling you this because you seem to trust Kurt and Burt, don't you?" she stated soothingly.

Again, Blaine nodded, his reaction quicker than the last, and Kurt released a breath he didn't know he was holding. Somehow, he thought he knew what was coming, and he thought it sounded like a vastly preferable alternative, and Blaine just might be okay with it.

"Well then," Carole said, taking a risk and gently taking Blaine's hand in hers, a source of contact which he mercifully did not pull away from. "we both know that Burt wouldn't marry anyone he didn't trust, especially after losing Elizabeth, because I've been told all about her, and how she was such a lovely person-"

This time, Blaine nodded and he hadn't even been asked a question. But then, Kurt knew Blaine agreed with the suggestion that Elizabeth Hummel was a great person, because she was. Kurt himself of course, agreed whole-heartedly. He was reminded of the Friday Night Dinner's the four of them – himself, his dad, his mom and Blaine – used to share.

"So both Burt and Kurt can vouch for the fact that I won't hurt you." She said, looking at the two Hummel's' pointedly, and they both immediately nodded, Kurt flashing Blaine a reassuring smile as the younger boy briefly looked up at him. "And if you're okay with it, then because I'm a nurse at this hospital, Doctor Carlton has agreed to let me examine you, with him supervising."

Even with his head bowed, Kurt could see the nervous look on Blaine's face, as if he did not quite know whether or not to trust the woman, even though he clearly trusted Burt Hummel's judgement.

"If you want, Burt can sit with you as well," Carole added gently, still smiling in encouragement. "for moral support." Burt instantly nodded.

"And me!" Kurt added sharply, having no intention of leaving Blaine's side.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Doctor Carlton said hastily, looking up from the clipboard, on which he had been scribbling.

"I'm not leaving him." Kurt refused stubbornly, moving to take Blaine's hand from Carole.

"Kurt, I'm not sure-" Carole began with a worried glance between him and Doctor Carlton.

"Kurt, don't go." Blaine begged so quietly, they almost missed it; however the desperate look that the younger boy flashed Kurt was obvious for all to see.

"I won't." Kurt promised softly, flashing everyone a look that quite plainly told everyone in the room that if they were going to get him out, he was going to have to be forcibly removed. If he was going to be Blaine's rock in this horrible, painful situation, then he was going to stick with him for as long as he was needed.

Doctor Carlton sighed, but nodded his acceptance, whilst Carole looked Blaine fully in the eyes for the first time, "Sweetie, are you okay with me doing this?" she asked carefully. "It'll probably hurt a little bit, but I promise to be as gentle as possible."

They waited a moment, but Blaine slowly nodded his consent.

"Good boy," Carole commended him softly. "I'm going to talk you through every step, okay? There's nothing to be scared of." She flashed him one more heartening smile, before saying: "Okay, first of all, I need you to lie back down on the bed, on your side, so that you're facing Kurt and Burt."

Hesitantly, Blaine lowered himself away from Kurt, lying back down on his side, whimpering as his backside brushed against the sheets. Kurt swallowed his distress; Blaine was clearly in much more pain than he was letting on. He made sure he kept a constant hold of Blaine's hand, squeezing it ever so often, offering the younger boy a wan smile.

"That's it." Carole soothed, nodding to Doctor Carlton to approach the other side of the bed where she was now standing, and where Blaine was facing away. Kurt could now see why she had deliberately asked Blaine to lie on his side; it was so that he wouldn't see the frightening doctor. "Now I'm going to lift the bedclothes away from your back and bottom." She told him.

As she proceeded with this, Kurt watched as Blaine sucked in a deep breath, slamming his eyes shut, as if waiting for some sort of trick to occur; like he was expecting more pain. He tensed and didn't move when Carole informed him she was going to unbutton the underside of the flimsy, blue hospital gown that he had been dressed in. Kurt ran his thumb over Blaine's palm and fingers, trying to placate him in some way, but Blaine's eyes still remained closed. Kurt couldn't tell if it was out of fear or shame. After all, his damaged body was now being viewed by two strangers, and there was only a thin hospital sheet preventing Kurt and Burt from seeing it too. Thus, Kurt determinedly looked away, desperate to give Blaine at least a sliver of dignity, and instead looked into the younger boy's face.

When Carole told Blaine gently that she was going to assess the damage to his anus, parting the cheeks of his backside gently, the boy elicited a loud whimper of pain the moment she touched the clearly tender skin. Kurt jumped, looking to his dad for help but Burt also looked troubled. This was Blaine, who had been a part of their family for so many years, and he was in such intense physical and emotional pain that they couldn't do anything to help him, or at least, there was nothing they could do imminently. Kurt didn't know much about situations like this, but he knew counselling was certainly on the cards, and from the concerned looks and constant scribbles that Doctor Carlton kept making, he rather thought that the hospital would suggest this the moment the physical damage was dealt with. Kurt's heart broke. He didn't know how much more of this Blaine could take. Like before, when Blaine was shrinking away from Doctor Carlton's touch, Kurt felt the need to do something; maybe say something to take Blaine's mind off the pain.

What could you say to someone that you hadn't seen in six years, especially when their own past seemed too horrific to talk about in that moment? His dad saved him from further thought.

"After all this is over, bud," Burt addressed Blaine quietly. "you're going to come home with us. We're going to sort out the spare room for you. I've already asked a buddy of mine from the garage to make a start. He's been over plenty of times and I trust him to make a good job of it." He looked at Kurt. "I've asked Jim to put all of the clothes you keep in there back into your room, if that's okay?"

Kurt just nodded. It was a mark of how concerned he was about his best friend that he couldn't care less about clothes in that moment. As long as Blaine came home, he didn't care. Blaine's response surprised both of them:

"I… I c-can't." he mumbled softly, whimpering slightly as Carole gently prodded around the damaged area.

"Okay, honey." She soothed, catching the eye of Doctor Carlton who nodded, and left the room. "Doctor Carlton's just leaving the room to get some ointment which will numb the pain, some antiseptic and some water to clean you up."

She pointedly stayed out of the conversation.

"What can't you do, buddy?" Burt asked the broken boy softly, waiting patiently for an answer, whilst Kurt rubbed sympathetically up and down the upper, freer part of Blaine's bandaged broken arm.

They waited for a few moments whilst Blaine gathered the courage to speak again, his voice hoarse and vulnerable. "I… c-can't go… b-back with you."

"Why not?" Burt asked patiently.

"Blaine, you… you can't go back to your dad… you can't-" Kurt began to panic. If Blaine didn't go back with them, where on earth would he go? To Cooper? Kurt had no idea where Cooper Anderson was these days, and he doubted Blaine did either; otherwise surely he would have gone to his big brother for help. The eldest Anderson sibling had always been self-obsessed though; Kurt doubted very much if he cared for Blaine's well-being.

Blaine's eyes finally opened, looking up to meet Kurt's. As they did, more tears began to fall from Blaine's soulful hazel eyes, and Kurt inwardly cursed himself for mentioning Jonathan Anderson. The man was a monster and he belonged in prison. Blaine opened his mouth to say something, but instead he released a small sob and he instantly closed it again, hiding his face in the pillow in shame.

"Why can't you come home with us, kiddo?" Burt asked again gently. "We want you to, don't we, Kurt?"

"Yes." Kurt had never been surer of anything in his whole life.

This time, it was a good few minutes before Blaine answered, moving his face away from the pillow so that his voice wasn't muffled as he murmured shakily, "You have a family… you have a fiancé-"

"I would love for you to come back with us, Blaine." Carole spoke up for the first time, pausing her work to confirm her response with Burt; they nodded together, and Kurt felt a rush of gratitude to the woman his dad was marrying. He knew that stepmothers were supposed to be hated in general, but he couldn't help but love his.

"You see?" Burt stated to Blaine, and Kurt nodded along with him.

Blaine said nothing. Tears continued to dribble down his cheeks, and he jumped as the door swung back open to reveal Doctor Carlton bringing a tray of medical supplies and a soft cloth to presumably wipe away any blood. Kurt closed his eyes briefly; he really didn't want to think about it. He looked back to Blaine and stroked a hand through his dark curls comfortingly, noticing how the boy had grown tense again at the male doctor's renewed presence.

"I… I d-don't…" Blaine trailed off faintly, apparently unable to continue, because he buried his face back into the pillow to avoid looking at either Burt or Kurt.

"You don't what, buddy?" Burt asked gently.

"I don't w-want to be a… burden." Blaine stated miserably. "I… I don't want t-to r-ruin your-"

"Stop right there." Burt said firmly, and Blaine, who had obviously trained himself to wither and hide when he did something wrong, or was spoken to harshly, winced slightly. "Blaine, look at me."

Blaine's chin trembled in fear, but he followed Burt's order. Kurt just wanted to hug his best friend again, and convince him that everything was going to be okay. He felt tears pool in his own eyes once again.

"I told you before," Burt told the younger boy firmly, leaving no room for argument. "that you were coming back with us. You're not a burden… to anyone, and if your father told you that, than he's wrong. You won't ruin anything, Blaine. You are part of my family… you always were."

Blaine looked to Kurt as if for confirmation, and Kurt didn't quite have enough time to wipe the tears away. Blaine of course, as he always had done, noticed that he was crying silently, and in turn, more tears dribbled down the younger boy's cheeks. "I'm so s-sorry, Kurt." He cried in distress. "I just k-keep upsetting you. I'm really s-sorry."

Kurt knew he had to take control of the situation before it got out of hand again. "You're not upsetting me, Blaine." He told him firmly, furiously wiping away his tears and then reaching to do the same for Blaine. "It's what has happened to you that is upsetting me. It's what all those awful people have done that's hurting me, not you. Never you." He promised softly, wiping the last of Blaine's tears from the younger boy's cheeks before moving to stroke his curls again. "You're my rock, Blaine Anderson."

Blaine didn't look convinced, but he allowed his eyes to meet Kurt's, and the older boy was just thankful that his best friend still found comfort in him. The peace was short-lasting however as Blaine winched and whined as Carole must have brushed against a particularly painful part of his anatomy. Kurt thought of a topic, anything that would keep Blaine's mind away from the pain.

"I'm at McKinley High School now," he said, as brightly as he could, and he was glad to see Blaine still hadn't looked away. Instead, he looked a little calmer at the change of topic; almost desperate to see how his friend had been whilst he had been enduring the horrors of his father. Kurt allowed his hand to keep drifting through Blaine's curls soothingly as he continued, "I made a few good friends, although most of them are girls and are all in glee club with me." He shrugged and was overjoyed to see Blaine's mouth upturn slightly at the edge in an almost-smile. "There's Mercedes Jones," he said chattily, trying to be as light-hearted as possible, especially since he could see out of the corner of his eye that Doctor Carlton was handing Carole some ointment and was silently instructing her how to coat it over the wound. "She has a voice like Beyoncé and I swear that girl's going to get a record deal some day, but she won't take any crap from anyone. As she says, she is a strong black woman and proud of it," he said, imitating Mercedes tone to which Blaine again, almost smiled. He then whimpered again as Carole began administering the ointment to his damaged behind, and Kurt stroked his hand down from Blaine's hair to his cheek, wiping away the first signs of any tears, "And then there's Miss Tina Cohen-Chang," he continued, determined to take Blaine's mind off what was going on around him, and keep the younger's boy's eyes on him instead. "She's quite shy, and a bit of a Goth… or is it emo? I don't really know." He shrugged lightly. "Anyway, you don't want to get on her bad side." He finished, before rolling his eyes at the next person on his list. "And then there's Rachel Berry. She's allegedly the 'star' of glee club but, please," he said, flinging his head back in a camp way he rarely did except for when he was talking in musical theatre mode, "I can't help but pull focus, okay?" he said jokily, and if possible, Blaine's almost-smile grew a little wider. "Anyway, she's obsessed with becoming a star on Broadway, and she'll kill anyone getting in her way… figuratively speaking of course." He frowned good-humouredly. "Or let's hope so." Blaine's eyes widened slightly, but Kurt's words seemed to be having the desired effect. There weren't any tears anymore. Blaine seemed content to just sit there and listen to Kurt witter on, and if Kurt had to do that all day to help heal his best friend, then he would. "But what her annoying habits hide is a heart of gold," he resumed. "I just wished she showed that side of her more."

Kurt smiled softly at his best friend, whose eyelids seemed to be growing heavy again. "You know," the older boy said softly. "They are really good friends, and I love them all in my own way." He paused, stroking the pad of thumb across Blaine's still slightly damp cheek, "But they were never you. You were and still are my best friend, Blaine." He said tenderly. "We went through everything together. You stuck up for me and… and looked after me in a way that no one ever has." He smiled as one particular memory suddenly came to the forefront. It wasn't a very happy memory at the time, but it was something he had recalled millions of times since. "Remember that time you climbed the tree in he schoolyard to stop dad finding out about the bullying?"

Burt, who had just been sitting there quietly, proudly watching his son and Blaine interact, suddenly groaned, albeit light-heartedly to join in with the banter, "Oh no," he said over-dramatically. "Not that…"

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Kurt tried hard not to feel depressed at the prospect of school every morning; he really did. In general, his enthusiasm and attitude towards school had improved tremendously since the second grade, but that was only due to meeting Blaine. Blaine was quite literally the sunshine in Kurt's life, and the best friend he could ever have asked for. Having known each other for three years now, they were still as inseparable as they were back on Blaine's first day of school, where they had snagged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches under an often disused stairwell, poring over Kurt's little notebook of drawings. Kurt was still just as unpopular, and even though Tanner Westwood and his cronies had long since moved on to middle school, it seemed to be a coveted tradition to pick on the kid with the supposedly girly clothes and the high-pitched voice. Through every push and every shove in the school playground, and during all the name-calling, Blaine stood faithfully by his side, righting him gently if he got pushed and helping him clean macaroni cheese off his clothes after cackling kids 'accidentally' splattered him with their lunch. The news that Blaine had stood his ground with Tanner had spread around the school like wildfire that day, and to most of the kids, who were either under Tanner's thumb or afraid of him, it was an unwelcome gesture. As many children had learnt from their parents, there was no going against the status quo in Lima, Ohio, and that was exactly what Blaine had done. His subsequent friendship with Kurt had only exacerbated his unpopularity and so, in the end, Blaine had ended up at the bottom of the social ladder with Kurt. Kurt often felt guilty at dragging Blaine down with him, because he knew without a doubt that with Blaine's gentle kindness and quiet enthusiasm, the younger boy could have made a great many friends. Yet Blaine insisted time and time again that he did not care about being popular, and that all that mattered was that he had found the nicest, kindest, most wonderful person in the playground to be best friends with that day.

So yes, Kurt felt unbelievably lucky to have Blaine as a source of support… even more so in the past year. Almost a year ago, his mom, the person who, with the exception of Blaine, he was closest to and loved the most in the world, had died. At first, he had not been able to understand it. Kurt remembered his mom coming home one day, with huge dark circles under her red-rimmed eyes, and leaning heavily into his dad, who had held her carefully around the waist, looking equally as devastated. Both she and his dad had sat him down at the dinner table and explained to him that she was sick. When he had asked when she would get better, she had smiled that beautiful smile of hers and replied softly, with a trembling chin that she probably wasn't going to. Within the space of a few months she had grown worse, becoming too tired to even muster the energy to get out of bed; she was constantly shaking, apparently as a result of the failing chemotherapy, and even though she never said anything when he was around, Kurt had once overheard her saying with difficulty to his tearful dad, that she would probably go soon. Those had been the worst moments of Kurt's life and every day when Blaine came over, he had fallen headfirst into the younger boy's arms, crying. Eventually, he and Blaine had become so in touch with each other's minds and emotions that Blaine knew instinctively when Kurt was upset. The younger boy would take his hand, lead him across the playground to their newfound sanctuary behind the school greenhouses, and place his arms around him, hugging him tightly. Blaine never said much during those occasions, but the hug and the shoulder to cry on were enough. Even though Blaine had never talked much about his parents, and especially about his mother's death, he had said enough to know that Blaine had loved his mom and had been just as close to her as Kurt had been with his. Kurt had known, and still knew that Blaine understood fully what he was feeling. And that only brought them closer together. Blaine had been there at the hospital the day his mom passed away, holding his hand the entire time, and Kurt had clutched back at his with equal fervour. It was Blaine that Kurt turned to when his dad sank deep within himself after the funeral. The past year had been strained between him and his dad to say the least; both of them did not know quite what to say or how to comfort one another, so a lot of the time, they just settled for quiet. Sometimes the bullying got so bad that Kurt wanted to just tell his dad, but he didn't want to upset him even more.

It had been the day Kurt had returned to school after a week's absence following his mom's death that he had discovered the truth about Blaine's father, and just how brave Blaine actually was. Kurt had been too upset to do anything much all day, and so when he looked up and saw a pile of macaroni cheese flying his way, tears were already welling in his eyes, awaiting the inevitable humiliation. However, the hit never came. Blaine had seen the large dollops of food being catapulted towards Kurt first and so, wanting to protect his grieving best friend, he leapt in front of him and took the hit. When Kurt had realised what had happened, he had steered a slightly stunned and mucky Blaine out of the school hall, before the teachers realised the commotion, and into the boy's toilets. This time, it had been him helping Blaine clean his sweater. In order to try and get the stain out completely, Blaine had, without thinking, taken the sweater off, revealing a multitude of cuts and bruises up his arms, and a purple, particularly painful-looking one splayed out angrily at his wrist. Kurt had always wondered why Blaine wore long sleeves, even in the boiling hot summer; he had found his answer. Initially, Blaine had made a poor attempt at covering up both his injuries and his home problems, but then when Kurt, after receiving years of support from his younger friend, finally returned the gesture, it all came tumbling out. The confident, dazzling smile Kurt had become so used to Blaine wearing had slipped completely, and for the first time, with the exception of the day his mom died, Kurt saw Blaine cry… really cry, and it had broken his heart. With his best friend constantly cheering him up, taking care of him, and simply being there for him, Kurt often carelessly forgot that Blaine was younger than him, and in that moment, he had felt incredibly guilty for not asking about the younger boy's home life more and looking after Blaine as his friend so often did for him. It had all come flooding out: the revelation that Blaine's dad, as had been routine for as long as Blaine could remember, was hitting him, beating him, hurting him, yelling horrible things at him… even locking him in the basement from time to time without food. The question as to why Blaine had made his own peanut butter and jelly sandwich that first day, as opposed to his parents, was answered. If Blaine wanted to eat, then he had to find and make it himself.

Blaine had been horrified that day at letting his mask slip; apologising profusely, desperately, for giving him even more to burden him on top of his mom's death, but Kurt hadn't minded… well… he clearly minded that Blaine was getting hurt. Every day, he feared that something really bad would happen to his best friend; that he would lose Blaine just as he had lost his mom, and he couldn't bear that thought. However, Blaine begged him tearfully not to tell anyone – not even Burt, otherwise his dad would be even angrier with him, and the punishments would just get worse. Kurt so desperately wanted to tell – to help Blaine get out of that horrible house, but similarly, he couldn't break the younger boy's trust; not when Kurt constantly pleaded with a worried Blaine not to tell Burt about the bullying. Kurt knew Blaine felt a similar conflict with keeping the bullying a secret from Burt as Kurt felt about Jonathan Anderson's abuse of Blaine, but they trusted and cared about each other too much to commit such a betrayal. With worries for each other on both sides, their bond was further strengthened– they depended on each other. Blaine experienced newfound comfort from Kurt after his father's constant abuse, and as always, Blaine continued to stick loyally by Kurt's side through thick and thin, often consoling him over his and Burt's strained father-son dynamic, and his missing of his mom.

So in having Blaine, Kurt no longer felt so depressed at the prospect of school. The only problem was that because Blaine was younger than him, they did not share classes, and so Kurt missed his friend dearly during that time. After what Kurt had just experienced a few minutes previously, all he wanted was to see Blaine; just seeing the other boy's face would make him feel a little better. One could assume that the end of school signified the end of the trauma from bullies. For Kurt, it had always been quite the opposite. Bullies took particular pleasure in cornering Kurt at the end of school, especially on days, such as this one, when Blaine's class was finishing late. It wasn't that the bullies had a problem with doing horrible things with Blaine around, or indeed to Blaine as well; it was just that generally, it was easier to terrify a person when they were on their own. Kurt was only nine years old and he already knew that. With the exception of Mrs Ainsworth, Blaine's teacher, who was obviously still finishing up the class, probably because their art project had overrun, most of the teachers had already gone home when the new chief bully, Ty Peterson and his friends had decided to approach Kurt. Not that the teachers ever did anything to help him or Blaine anyway.

Kurt could have run away, but his parents had always taught him never to run away from a bully, and besides, he hadn't wanted to leave Blaine behind. Also, the other part of the reason for him standing aimlessly in the middle of the school yard was that his dad was supposed to be picking him and Blaine up because it was Friday. Even with him and his dad still not knowing quite what to say to each other, they had both agreed to keep on the tradition of the Friday Night Dinner, in exactly the same way as they had with his mom. Blaine of course was part of the coveted dinner, and had been ever since that first week he and Kurt had met when Kurt had invited Kurt enthusiastically along to the dinner, much to the initial chagrin of his dad. Kurt had been very happy however, when Burt warmed up to the other boy's presence a mere three weeks into Kurt and Blaine's friendship, and now warmly insisted on Blaine joining them, telling the younger boy that he was welcome in their house any time. When his dad had said this, Kurt had noticed that Blaine, although as always was smiling politely, had grown distinctly quiet, and Kurt knew he was thinking of his own 'home' and father, and how he was constantly told that he was a waste of space. Kurt had simply slipped his hand into Blaine's under the table, and the other boy had smiled at him gratefully. He had thought briefly that his dad had noticed Blaine's sadness, but the man did not say anything, so Kurt supposed he must have imagined it.

Kurt loved that Blaine spent most of his time at the Hummel household, because not only did it mean plenty of time with his best friend, but also, it meant that for a lot of the day, Blaine was safe from his father. Blaine especially managed to liven the place up on Friday Night Dinner's, talking animatedly about anything and everything, occasionally even making Burt laugh with some silly story or simply by Blaine's bouncy enthusiasm, which also made Kurt laugh most of the time, and he was used to it. These moments of shared laughter and happy conversation between the three of them were what Kurt looked forward to most in the week. He knew that his dad enjoyed Friday Night Dinner's just as much, and so every Friday, he would leave work at the garage early to pick him and Blaine up to give the three of them more time together.

However, today, his dad was late. Had he been on time then Kurt knew this might never have happened. But it had… and now he would have to tell his father about all the bullying, because there was no way he could hide this. The bullies had finally left him alone a few minutes previously, cackling at their 'genius' as they walked away from the school, leaving Kurt standing there, completely humiliated, tears streaming silently down his face. He wished Blaine would come soon.

As if some supreme force had read his mind, the school doors were suddenly flung open and gaggle of children Kurt recognised from the grade below him ran out of the school gates towards the curb where Kurt now noticed, were a line of cars, all presumably with waiting parents to take their kids home. Kurt searched but he couldn't see his dad.

"Kurt?"

Kurt recognised that innocent, but concerned tone anywhere. Even though Kurt had his back to Blaine so he couldn't yet see his tears, the younger boy already knew that something was wrong. Finally, Kurt allowed himself to release a sob and turned to see Blaine rushing down the school steps, hurrying to meet him, his expression sad and anxious. Before he could even say anything, Blaine had reached him and was hugging him tightly. Kurt flung his arms around his friend, resting his head on Blaine's shoulder and crying quietly. Blaine did not say anything for a few minutes, just allowing him to release all of the pent up tears that he had been holding back since the bullies left.

"Kurt," Blaine asked softly, his big brown eyes blinking up at him as Kurt eventually slackened his grip, giving Blaine the opportunity to squeeze his hand comfortingly. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

Kurt tried to focus his breathing for a few moments. Once he had succeeded, he sniffed and was about to wipe his eyes and nose with his hand when Blaine, as he so often did, offered him a perfectly folded tissue. Smiling slightly, Kurt accepted the tissue, wiped his eyes and blew his nose quietly, before placing the tissue up his sleeve.

"Ty Peterson." He sniffled.

Blaine's eyes grew wide and fearful, and he squeezed Kurt's hand again. "What did he do?" his younger friend asked gently, but Kurt could tell from Blaine's glistening eyes that the other boy was upset, as he always was when Kurt was hurt or humiliated. He never got angry; Kurt had never seen Blaine angry in all the time he had known him. It just wasn't in his nature. But he did get upset; desperate to know why and how people could be so cruel. Even after everything his father had done to him, Blaine never spoke a word against Mr Anderson, but Kurt saw the hurt in his best friend's eyes; the wondering just what he had done wrong to deserve all the abuse. Kurt knew that look well, because he often felt the same way. In that moment, he was sure his expression was mirroring Blaine's.

"He… they…" Kurt sniffed. "They p-pushed me over and t-took my shoes."

Blaine's eyes visibly widened in horror, and sure enough, when he looked down, he noticed that Kurt was standing there with nothing on his feet but his socks, which were gradually becoming dirty from the tarmac schoolyard.

"Oh Kurt, I'm so sorry." Blaine whispered, his eyes welling with tears upon witnessing his best friend's unhappiness.

Kurt could feel himself beginning to cry in earnest again, "What am I going to do, Blaine?" he questioned wetly, hanging his head. "I'm going to have to tell my dad about the bullying now. He's going to notice that I haven't got my shoes." He sobbed.

"Maybe he won't," Blaine tried kindly, squeezing his hand again. "I didn't notice at first."

Kurt shook his head, his cries becoming steadily louder. "He'll notice. And he'll want to know how I lost my shoes. And then he'll realise about the bullying." He wept tearfully. "And things will be even weirder between us. He'll probably come into school and talk to the teachers, and it'll just make everything worse."

"How do you know he'll notice?" Blaine asked softly, rubbing his thumb comfortingly over Kurt's hand.

Helplessly, Kurt pulled away and jerked his head towards the tall oak tree next to them, feeling another sob erupt though him as he saw the situation he was in once again. He watched as Blaine's eyes travelled up the tree, resting near the top, where his shoes were currently tied to the one of the top-most branches – Ty Peterson's idea of a joke.

"Dad will notice when he picks us up." Kurt sobbed again, panicking, and this time Blaine didn't contradict him. The fact that his best friend agreed with his thought only made Kurt cry harder.

"Maybe it's a good thing." Blaine whispered gently, though his eyes were still brimming with tears upon seeing Kurt's unhappiness. "Maybe it's good that your dad finds out – he might be able to help."

"It won't help!" Kurt cried hysterically, with a hint of frustration in his voice. He knew Blaine was only trying to make him feel better, but he simply couldn't bear the thought of his dad finding out. "It'll just make everything worse – just like you say that telling someone about what your dad does to you would make everything worse."

Blaine was quiet then, and Kurt began to worry that he had hurt his best friend's feelings. He had seen the hint of hurt flicker across Blaine's face when he all but shouted his fears, and despite his fretting, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Blaine. He was about to open his mouth to apologise when Blaine suddenly removed his small satchel, a look of determination crossing his face. Kurt watched as Blaine approached the tree, scaling it up and down with his eyes before he took a running jump at the lowest branch. Horrified, Kurt ran to the base of the tree.

"Blaine!" he cried fearfully. "Blaine, what are you doing?"

Blaine, who had successfully clambered up onto the branch was now looking for his next foothold, determination still set across his face. "Getting your shoes back." He answered simply.

Kurt's eyes widened in horror as Blaine fearlessly scrambled up onto the next branch up, his left foot almost slipping against a piece of loose bark. Kurt would have scaled the tree himself before if he hadn't thought it too dangerous. Ty Peterson was a tall, well-built, older boy and so had ascended the tree with incredible ease, but Kurt was smaller and less sure of himself so high up. He knew he wouldn't have been able to reach some of the branches. But Blaine was even smaller than him, and Kurt couldn't bear to think about what would happen if he lost his balance and couldn't reach to grip a branch in time. He began to cry again.

"Blaine, please come down! It's not worth it." He called desperately. "I'd rather tell dad about the bullying than lose you."

However, Blaine apparently wasn't paying attention. He was too engaged in making sure he climbed to all the right branches. Once or twice he stumbled, his eyes becoming wide; his face white, and Kurt screamed out. He could see that the younger boy was scared, yet Blaine just kept on going… for him.

Eventually, Kurt watched Blaine jump for the branch to which his shoes were tied, reaching his destination successfully, and untying the laces from the tree.

"Look out!" the younger boy called, and Kurt moved out of the way as his precious shoes tumbled to the ground. Kurt hastily slipped them on before anyone passing noticed what was going on, and then turned around to thank Blaine. In the time that he had looked away however, Blaine's face had turned as white as a sheet and he was staring at the long drop to the ground, as if he hadn't realised he had climbed so high.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked worriedly. "Blaine, are you okay?"

He watched Blaine visibly gulp before flashing him a very shaky, false smile, "I… I'm fine. I… I'm just coming down now."

Kurt knew something was really wrong, and he felt himself begin to cry yet again, whilst his eyes followed the younger boy as he hesitantly edged closer to the trunk of the tree, searching for a manageable way down. He prayed to anyone that was listening that his best friend wouldn't fall. Blaine had been so brave to climb the tree to save Kurt the humiliation of telling Burt about the bullying, but simultaneously, it had been a foolish move.

Blaine bit his lip and gripping the tree trunk tightly, he swung himself down towards a lower branch. However, just as his feet touched the branch, they slipped on another loose, rotten piece of bark and he began to fall forwards, losing his balance. Kurt screamed again, closing his eyes tight, because he didn't want to see this; didn't want to witness his friend falling headfirst to the ground. When he didn't hear a thud, he dared to open one eye, peeking up at the tree. Blaine, still white-faced and terrified, had managed to right his balance so that he didn't hit the ground, and was clinging to the tree trunk for dear life.

"Oh Blaine." Kurt cried, taking a few steadying breaths.

Blaine looked slowly down at the ever present gap between him and the ground and said timidly, "Um… Kurt." He sounded heartbreakingly ashamed of himself. "I… I don't think I can get down."

Kurt's chin continued to tremble, but he tried to keep as calm and as clear-headed as possible. "That's okay, Blaine – just stay there."

Blaine nodded, and before he sniffed too, "I'm really sorry, Kurt."

Kurt's expression softened, despite his tears, "Don't be. Thank you so much for doing this, but I'm really scared for you right now. Just please don't move."

Again, Blaine nodded obediently, "Okay." He replied in a small voice.

Kurt looked around the yard for someone, anyone who could potentially help them, but everyone had gone home. Even the cars that had been lined up on the curb had disappeared, and Kurt felt completely powerless. Then he remembered that Mrs Ainsworth was still inside the school. She was a nice enough teacher and she would almost certainly help them. Blaine would also probably get a scolding for climbing the enormous oak tree in the first place, but right now, all Kurt cared about was that his best friend was safe.

"Blaine, I'll go and get Mrs Ainsworth!" he called up to the younger boy, whose grip was still firm on the tree trunk. "She'll help us."

He turned to rush back into the school, but Blaine's loud, frightened cry stopped him, "No Kurt, don't!"

Kurt swivelled round so that he was looking back up at Blaine again, "Why not?" he asked, trying to remain calm and failing miserably. Tears were still dribbling down his cheeks. "Blaine, I don't want you to fall."

"I… I'm okay," His younger friend answered, momentarily flashing an obviously faux smile that was probably meant to be reassuring. "I'll find a way down – just please don't get a teacher."

"Why?" Kurt demanded again.

"Because it's against the school rules to climb the trees," Blaine answered shakily, before his face turned even whiter at his next elaboration. "And if a teacher finds out, then they'll tell my father and he'll… he'll… be really, really… m-mad."

He trailed off towards the end, looking terrified at the prospect; both of them knew that Jonathan Anderson could be, and usually was, much more than simply 'mad' or angry – he got violent. So Kurt was inexplicably torn between what to do. He could see that Blaine was right; the school would call Mr Anderson if Blaine got into trouble, and then the younger boy would get hurt. The way Kurt saw it, Blaine could and might get hurt either way. So instead he wrung his hands in despair.

"I don't know what to do." Kurt panicked aloud, frantically.

Blaine looked absolutely heartbroken that his actions and subsequent situation had upset his best friend, "Please Kurt," he begged timidly, despite his fear. "Don't cry… it'll be okay. Please."

Kurt's response was drowned out by the sudden appearance and sound of a very familiar and welcome car. Kurt breathed a sigh of relief as his dad finally pulled into the yard, but his happiness was short-lived however as he noticed the horrified, almost angry expression on Burt's face through the windshield, as the man spotted Blaine in the tree. As soon as the ignition had been switched off, his dad shot out of the car and dashed over to them.

"Blaine Anderson!" he yelled, though he looked more fearful for Blaine's safety than actually thunderously angry – that was Jonathan Anderson's forte. "What the hell are you doing up that tree? Get down here now before you fall!"

Blaine noticeably winced at Burt's sharp tone, but Kurt could see his best friend start to build up those false, but ever-present walls of confidence. "I don't think I can." He answered, his voice stronger and calmer than it had been a few minutes previously when replying to Kurt, but nevertheless, Kurt could still tell when Blaine was putting on that façade.

Kurt looked to his had desperately and saw the colour drain from his face. It was as if the man had just realised that Blaine wasn't playing a game; he was well and truly stuck, and because he was so much smaller than Ty Peterson, he could easily miss a branch and fall.

"Look, bud," Burt coaxed, his tone calmer, almost soothing. "You got yourself up there, so you must be able to get yourself down too." Kurt sniffed and stared at his dad. He could see plainly that even his dad didn't quite believe his own words.

"I... I'm really sorry, sir," Blaine said sincerely, his fear beginning to show through now. "But I… I don't think I can."

Burt sighed, his face a mixture of frustration and worry. He took off his baseball cap and scratched his head as he always did when he was thinking, before he replaced it, looking the tree up and down. "Why on earth did you go up there in the first place?" he asked exasperatedly, but there was audibly a kindly edge to his voice.

Kurt swallowed at his dad's question and looked up at Blaine, whose eyes met his. Kurt could tell in that one look that Blaine desperately wanted to tell Burt about the bullying; the stop something like this happening again, but there was an unspoken understanding between the two of them. There always had been. Kurt could see that Blaine knew that he wasn't ready to tell his dad yet; that was why he had scaled the tree in the first place – to stop Burt from finding out. With practiced ease, Blaine turned his confident front on again, pausing slightly before smiling sheepishly.

"It was… um… err… a… a dare." The younger boy stated cheerily, nodding as he found his answer. "Yeah… a dare."

Kurt smiled gratefully back at his best friend, but when he looked up at his dad, he could see a very visibly frown on the man's face. Kurt could immediately tell that Burt didn't believe Blaine, but then, his best friend was awful at lying; he was such a natural truth-teller. The fact that he had hidden his father's abuse for years didn't count; he never lied about his father – he just resorted to the safe option of never saying anything in the hope that no one would notice. And no one had noticed… until Kurt did. Kurt bit his lip and prayed that his dad didn't call Blaine out on the fact that it was such a blatant lie.

"Uh-huh…" Burt pondered slowly, clearly not believing one word of it. The guilty, concentrated expression on Blaine's face was enough. "And who dared you? I want their names so I can report them to your teacher."

"Um…" Blaine stumbled, his cheeky grin fading slightly, clearly not prepared to answer the question with yet another lie.

"I'm serious, Blaine," Burt said gruffly. "You're seven years-old. You should not be climbing any trees, let alone the biggest one on the school grounds. If the older kids have been daring you, I want their names."

Blaine hesitated for a moment, and Kurt began to wish that his friend was a more convincing liar. Finally, a small smile crossed Blaine's features as he apparently found an answer and announced, "Me… I… I dared me… myself." He amended.

"You dared yourself?" Burt repeated, raising an eyebrow. Kurt knew for sure that his dad knew that Blaine was lying now, but for some reason, he wasn't pushing the issue.

"Y-Yes." Blaine stammered. Kurt had to admit that at least that was basically true. Blaine had made the decision to climb the tree to get Kurt's shoes down. Kurt hung his head and sniffed. This was all his fault.

He suddenly felt a warm arm around him and looked up to see his dad giving him a kind, reassuring smile, "It's okay, bud." He said gently. "We'll get him down." He looked back towards the school and the empty car park for a source of help. "Looks like everyone's already gone home." He remarked.

Kurt just shrugged, sniffing again and looking up at his best friend, still holding firmly onto the trunk of the tree, "You were late." He couldn't help but explain in a small voice. It was true. If his dad had been on time, then this would never have happened.

Burt looked crushed and extremely guilty, withdrawing his hand from around Kurt's back. "I… I know, bud. I'm sorry. Something needed taking care of at work and..." His dad trailed off, apparently realising that Kurt was not in the least bit interested in his heightened work schedule, given that they had missed valuable time on their special Friday night together, and Blaine was now stranded up a dangerously high tree. Kurt stared desperately up at his friend, silently pleading for his dad to do something. Burt in turn, seemed to read his son's mind.

He started towards the tree, assessing it up and down for potential footholds, just as Blaine had done earlier, before swinging himself up onto the first branch with surprising agility. Kurt took in a large gulp of breath, his heart beating wildly underneath his clothes. He was now doubly scared because the two people he loved most in the world were so far from the ground, that if one of them, or even both of them fell, then they would get seriously hurt.

"Dad," he pleaded in a small voice. "Please be careful."

"I'll be fine, bud-" the eldest Hummel stopped speaking momentarily as the branch he was balancing on creaked and bended dangerously. He hastily grabbed onto another, sturdier-looking one.

"Please be careful, Burt." Blaine echoed, now in just as fearful and timid a voice as Kurt's.

"Now just you concentrate on staying right where you are until I can get to you, okay?" Burt reprimanded the youngest boy gently, though he was clearly touched by the sentiment.

Kurt looked on in terror as his dad slowly closed the gap between him and Blaine until he was on the branch below Blaine. Blaine shuffled his feet nervously, as if not knowing what would be considered safe to do next. Burt eased himself down onto the branch so that he was sitting relatively comfortably, his back pressed flat against the tree trunk for leverage, before he looked up at Blaine. Kurt watched as his dad took in Blaine's wide, scared eyes, the confident front gone for now, and the man flashed the young boy an encouraging smile.

"You're okay, bud." Burt told Blaine softly. "You're alright." He paused momentarily, as if working out what method would be best to tackle. Eventually, he outstretched both arms towards the boy, "Slowly and carefully, as I did just now, sit down." He directed. Blaine took another look down at the ground and swallowed, turning nervous eyes on Burt. Kurt was thankful that his dad continued to smile reassuringly, because he knew how fearful his best friend was of not doing something straight away when he was around his own father. "Come on, bud," Burt coaxed gently. "I've got you. You won't fall, I promise."

"You can do it, Blaine!" Kurt called up to his friend, needing to help in some way to quell his terror.

Kurt saw Blaine's eyes land and rest on him for a moment before the same expression of determination that had been present when he first climbed the tree, crossed his face. The younger boy sucked in a deep breath before following Burt's instructions, easing himself down into a sitting position, so that his little legs were dangling over the edge.

"That's right," Burt encouraged, his arms still outstretched. "Now I want you to lean forwards, towards where my arms are, okay?"

Blaine flashed him a look that so obviously said 'I'll fall', that even Kurt could see it from way down below.

"You won't fall," Kurt heard his dad add. "I'll catch you before that happens. Put your arms out like this," he instructed patiently, showing Blaine the position his arms were currently in. "and when you lean forwards, try and put your hands on my shoulders, okay?"

Blaine looked doubtful, yet nodded determinedly. Slowly, he reached out his arms, stretching them to angle with Burt's shoulders, before leaning forwards. Kurt opened his mouth to scream when he saw Blaine slip off the branch completely, but no sound came out. Instead he let out a short, sharp, shaky breath of air as he witnessed his dad, as the man had promised, catching the younger boy deftly around the middle. Blaine's hands, as Burt had calculated, had landed firmly on the man's shoulders, though Blaine's eyes were wide with terror. Burt adjusted the boy's weight so that he was resting on his hip, as Blaine's hands automatically gripped around his neck.

"Good boy," Burt praised gently. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Kurt was incredibly glad his dad was there, because he didn't think he could bear seeing that frightened look on Blaine's face on his own. For the first time since before his mom's death, he felt safe around his dad, instead of awkward. He wanted nothing more than for the man to hug him, because the bullying and now this, had upset him greatly. However, he needed to make sure his best friend was okay first, although after seeing his dad make that first save, catching Blaine as he jumped from the branch, Kurt somehow knew that the two people he loved most would be just fine. Things between him and his dad had been strained recently, but the man had never let him down, and Kurt was certain he wouldn't now. And it went without saying that he knew Blaine wouldn't let him down – he never did.

He watched proudly as his dad coaxed Blaine into climbing onto his back, the boy's arms wrapped securely around the man's shoulders and neck, before Burt carefully descended the tree. The moment they both landed on secure, solid ground, Kurt ran to them, sweeping a dazed Blaine into a hug as he slipped from Burt's back. Blaine didn't respond for a few seconds – he was a little shell-shocked, however he finally drew his arms around Kurt and hugged him in return.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Kurt whispered to his best friend, resting his head on the younger boy's shoulder.

"Love you, Kurt." Blaine said so softly and vulnerably that only Kurt could hear it.

"Love you, Blaine." Kurt responded, before releasing the younger boy, satisfied that he was okay. He promptly turned round and hugged his dad tightly round the middle, clinging to him tightly; so, so thankful for him being there, no matter how late he was. He registered briefly how stunned his dad looked before the man's features softened and he folded his arms around his son in return. At that moment, Kurt didn't think he had ever felt so safe and relieved. It was also the moment in which he realised that he and his dad had not hugged or maintained any major physical contact since his mom's funeral, and he clung on tighter than ever.

"I love you, daddy." Kurt mumbled against his father, not caring that he resorted to the name he used to call his dad before he 'grew up', or rather, before his mom died.

He thought he heard his dad clear his throat slightly before he replied a little gruffly, "I love you too, son."

"Thank you for saving him." Kurt continued to mumble, still not breaking the embrace. He couldn't really put into words how thankful he was that Blaine was safe. Aside from his dad, Blaine was the most important person in the world to him and he couldn't bear to lose him.

"Well I could hardly leave him up there could I?" Burt answered, before adding lightly, his head turning to look at Blaine, with a humorous, mischievous glint Kurt hadn't glimpsed since before his mom's death. "Or could I?"

"Hey!" Blaine complained, although when Kurt finally broke away to look at his friend, he could see clearly that Blaine knew it was all in good fun. He was a part of the family and he knew it. He wouldn't be left up in any trees if they had a say in it.

Kurt heard a chuckle and his heart lifted with happiness as he saw his dad chortling at Blaine's false indignation. He was overjoyed when the man drew both him and Blaine into a huge cuddle, only breaking away when his stomach rumbled loudly.

"I think that calls for dinner." Burt announced, leading the two boys to the car, which was still parked precariously a few metres away. "But Blaine…" he said seriously as he opened the door to the backseat for the two children. "No more daring yourself to do anything, and no more climbing trees, okay?"

"Yes, sir." Blaine said, looking both chastised and grateful for Burt's rescue operation. "Thank you, sir."

"That's okay." Burt nodded gruffly, before herding them into the backseat and then settling himself behind the wheel.

"Will… will you… t-tell my father?" Blaine asked nervously, and Kurt reached over and slipped his hand into the younger boy's to offer both comfort and gratitude for what he did. He really hoped his dad wouldn't, but the man had such a sense of duty that he might feel it his obligation to tell Mr Anderson, with the pure intention of protecting him in the future; he just didn't realise that he would actually be causing Blaine far more pain than any tree probably could.

Both children waited with baited breath as Burt hesitated, "If you promise me that you won't go doing anything like that again, then we'll say no more about it." He decided.

Blaine let out a relieved breath, "I promise, Burt."

"Good." Burt responded, satisfied. "That goes for you too, Kurt."

"Yes, dad." Kurt replied though when he looked into the rear view mirror he could see that his eyes were twinkling. He knew that Kurt wouldn't do something like that, and Kurt also had a feeling that his dad additionally knew that Blaine was lying about his situation being the result of a dare, but thankfully, he didn't say anything. Instead he said with almost rejuvenating spirit; a lightness to his voice Kurt hadn't heard in nearly a year: "Any suggestions for Friday Night Dinner, Kurt?"

Kurt grinned widely at this sudden, but welcome ease between them, "Anything but macaroni and cheese." He said cheekily, catching Blaine's eye.

Blaine caught the reference to the school dinners, and promptly fell about laughing.

---

Kurt wished desperately, more than anything, that he could make Blaine smile and laugh like that again, because the boy in front of him had never looked so broken and so helpless. Blaine's enthusiasm for life and people had slowly been drained from him, one day at a time over those six years, and Kurt didn't know how to get that back. Instead, he could only be there for his best friend, because, broken and defeated or not, Blaine had still come back, and Kurt was so unbelievably glad that he had.

"You know," Burt said conversationally, to a sleepy Blaine. "Kurt eventually told me the real reason why you climbed that tree. I knew you hadn't dared yourself. I mean kid," he questioned in gentle humour. "How on earth do you dare yourself?" He shook his head dramatically. "Seriously, buddy, you need to work on your lying."

As Blaine's eyes finally left Kurt's, closing fully, both Kurt and his dad saw it. A small smile. It wasn't very prominent, but it was definitely there.

"Now there's a picture." Burt breathed softly, a grin playing on his mouth at seeing Blaine's now peacefully sleeping face, complete with smile.

Kurt was so relieved and so happy to see Blaine finally smile, giving them some indication that not all hope was lost, that he finally allowed himself to cry. It started off as small sniffles, but as his dad noticed and swept him into a comforting embrace, he broke into quiet sobs, glad that his cries were muffled by his dad's shoulder, because he didn't want to wake Blaine.

"I know, son." Burt whispered gently. "I know it's a lot to take in. It's not going to be easy, but we're just going to have to be there for him."

Kurt gulped down another sob and nodded, "I know." He said thickly. "It's just… I've just realised… that… that day he c-c-climbed the t-tree… when you s-s-saved him… things w-w-weren't g-good between you and m-me and when y-you saved h-him… it w-was l-like… the m-moment everything started to get b-better. It b-brought us closer together."

He felt Burt nod in understanding, "I know. I owe my relationship with my son to him." he said gruffly. "If he hadn't done that so unbelievably annoying thing then… things between us could have been very different."

"B-b-but it's n-not fair." Kurt wept in frustration, balling his hand into a fist. "It's not far that he's so good… he does s-so much good… and he gets hurt. It's n-not f-fair that this h-happened to h-him." he sobbed.

"I know," Burt murmured into his hair, his voice just as thick. "I know it's not fair. None of this is fair. What's happened to him isn't fair, but there's nothing we can do about it. We only try and help him move on."

"We could go after Jonathan!" Kurt snapped angrily. "We could… w-we could…"

"That's not going to help anyone, bud." Burt soothed, pulling away and looking at his son seriously. "And you know it. I don't know about you, but I just want to keep Blaine as far away from Jonathan as possible."

Kurt sniffed and swallowed any angry retorts he had. His dad, always the voice of reason, was right. There was no point in going after Jonathan Anderson; it would only make things worse for Blaine. As far as they had gathered, Blaine had run away from the man, so Mr Anderson probably had no idea where Blaine was. If they kicked up a fuss, then Jonathan would know exactly where Blaine had disappeared to. Then again, Kurt knew there was probably a slim chance that Blaine would tell them where his dad was anyway, either because he was too traumatised or out of some, misguided loyalty to the man he could barely refer to as a father.

Carole disturbed the silence by whispering to Burt, "Is he asleep?"

Burt nodded, "Kid drifted off a few minutes ago."

His fiancé nodded, taking a step back and allowing Doctor Carlton to resume with the final steps of healing, to make sure everything had been done properly.

"The ointment probably made him a little drowsy," Carole explained to her family. "Although he clearly needs the sleep, poor thing." She looked sadly at Burt, "He's in a bad way."

Everyone in the room knew she wasn't just talking about the bruises, the broken arm and the vicious anal tear, but it was only Doctor Carlton who had a response.

"I think it'd be prudent to contact a hospital psychiatrist to come down and see him." he said wisely, but not unkindly. He finished his work, buttoning Blaine's hospital gown back up, before fully covering the sleeping boy with the cotton blanket, looking down at him sadly. "He's at the difficult age between child and adult; it's hard for Blaine to know how to react, and so it's difficult for a psychiatrist to fully understand and gauge how best to help him."

Kurt let out another sob, and felt his dad squeeze his shoulder gently; the eldest Hummel also didn't seem to know quite what to say.

"Maybe if he continues like this, it'd be better to transfer him to the psychiatric ward." Doctor Carlton said thoughtfully, worrying his lip with his teeth.

"No!" Kurt snapped fiercely. "He's not crazy!"

"No, he's not." Burt agreed sharply, glaring up at the doctor. "I am very grateful for all you have done for Blaine, but he does not need to take a trip to any psych ward. He's been hurt badly by his dad and by this rapist, and he's scared, and all he needs are the people who love him – that's us." He said with just as much vigour as his son's outburst and Kurt looked up at his dad proudly. "So he'll go home with us. I am quite happy to pay the hospital bill, and even for counselling sessions, but don't you stand there and say that he's crazy when he isn't… he's terrified. He's fifteen and he shouldn't have to be dealing with any of this." Even though his voice was quiet, it was filled with an anger that quite clearly stunned and terrified the middle-aged doctor, who shuffled his feet nervously. "Aren't you supposed to have special people who… I don't know," he said vaguely, looking towards a wide-eyed Carole for help. "… who specialise in… rape cases? Because with all due respect Doctor Carlton… you don't seem to."

"I… um… I treat rape cases," the doctor said, a little unnerved by Burt's protective speech. "The physical aspect… it's the psychiatrist's job to assess what is best for him mentally-"

"Oh good," Burt hissed, a little rudely. "So why don't you leave that to them before you transfer the kid to the friggin' psych ward."

Silence reigned for a moment, leaving an awkward tension in the atmosphere. Carole was glancing wide-eyed between the man she loved and her colleague. Kurt just stared up at his father with pride and gratitude. He knew that with his dad around, no harm would come to his best friend.

"You… err… you're right." Doctor Carlton finally stumbled apologetically. "I'm sorry."

Burt, who had half risen from his chair, nodded gruffly and sat back down again, "It's okay."

"Bob has sent the tests for STDs in for examination," Carole said quickly, eager to break the tension. Kurt looked up fearfully. "There are no sign of any minor ones, but we've given him some antibiotics to rid him of anyway; the results for the major ones like HIV and AIDS should be delivered to us in a few weeks."

Kurt sniffed again, and watched his dad nod numbly in response. "Thank you." He said quietly to both Carole and Doctor Carlton. It was a peace offering which the middle-aged doctor took.

"Just doing my job," he said, smiling slightly before it faded a little. "The anal tear was quite severe, and it will be quite painful for him move around, and go to the toilet for a while, but I'm optimistic it'll heal within the month. And we've had to take a few pictures for evidence for the police." He said seriously. "As you are acting as Blaine's guardian for now, I need your consent for me to actually pass these onto the police."

Burt shrugged, "Okay. Anything to find the bastard that did this."

Doctor Carlton was hesitant before he added, "The police want to come in and talk to Blaine about this, but I'm not sure he's quite ready for that yet, because they'll also want to know where the bruises came from and as a doctor, I can quite plainly see not all of them are fresh. Some of them are old. I've spent much of my career reviewing abuse cases, Mr Hummel, and Blaine has cuts on his back that were clearly made by belt beatings; most of those cuts won't ever heal. They've been left too long."

Tears fell again from Kurt's eyes; he had known about the abuse before anyone. But just knowing that if he'd told someone… even if it had been betraying Blaine's trust… then none of this would have happened, was eating away at him. The abuse his best friend had abused when they were younger hadn't stopped. It had only got worse. Burt just let his head fall into his hand.

"So what are you saying?" his dad asked tiredly.

"As the person who has technically treated Blaine, it is my obligation to tell the police about the bruises, because that kid has been abused. And then they'll try and get out of Blaine where his father is, stressing him out further before they find and arrest the man."

"Blaine won't tell you or anyone where his father is." Kurt spoke up for the first time in a while. "He won't, trust me."

Doctor Carlton sighed, and placed the materials back onto he tray he had brought in before. "I'm going to speak to the child psychiatrist on the ward… see what she recommends and find out when she can come down to talk to Blaine."

With that, the middle-aged doctor walked out, leaving the devastated family behind. It was now evening and they had ridden on a rollercoaster of emotions that day. They all wanted to fall into the blissful ignorance of sleep, but they couldn't. Not until they found out what was going to happen to Blaine.

Poor Blaine. I'd say what's coming next, but I honestly don't know, and I'll try and write more if I can get the time. So I hope you did like the chapter and that it wasn't disappointing after such a long wait. Please let me know what you think! :)