a/n: This chapter deals mainly with Kurt and Elizabeth Hummel, so I'm going to give an apology and a please-don't-hurt-me to the Faberry and Bantana shippers. This chapter will take a break from the rest of the scoobies. Hopefully you'll like it anyways and maybe some of your questions regarding Kurt's mother will be answered. Please review! Thank you so much for reading!

"Kurt?" Burt raised his head as he heard a creak coming from the staircase.

Kurt bristled and turned the corner into the kitchen to see his dad resting his plaid-covered elbows on the kitchen table, oiling a lead something-or-other.

"I didn't know you spent the night."

"I came in kinda late..." Kurt trailed off, running his hand over his quaffed hair.

"Dalton called me a couple of times. Said you been skippin' classes."

"Yeah, well..." Kurt trailed off again, his eyes rimmed red.

"I don't want to get mad, Kurt, I'm just worried. You don't look like you been gettin' much sleep."

Kurt sighed heavily. "No. I haven't."

"I think we should talk."

"About my mother?"

"If you want to."

Kurt stared at the floor and clutched his temple. "I didn't even know her. Not just the slayer stuff but... we never talk about her. Not anything about her."

Burt set down his metal contraption and gestured for Kurt to sit. "So let me tell you."

Kurt let his satchel slump to the floor and took a seat opposite his father at the kitchen table.

"...Do you have any questions?" Burt asked awkwardly.

Kurt bit his bottom lip. "When did you find out? That she was a slayer?"

"In high school."

"Is that how you met? In high school?"

Burt smirked. "The story of how I met your mother and how I found out that she was what she was is a long and very interesting story. I've always had a hard time not telling it. I think the first thing you should know is that back in 1988, I had hair."

1988

"Toss him! Toss him! Toss him!" the small crowd chanted ceremoniously.

Burt didn't cheer with the rest of them but he watched without opposition as Paul Karofsky and Brad Richmond swung some reedy, bespectacled kid back and forth, clutching his skinny feet and shoulders. They guffawed as they threatened to toss the kid into one of the stinking dumpsters behind the high school. All of the football players had crowded around to watch and laugh, as well as their cheerleader girlfriends and some of the nastier rich kids.

"Dude, I think he's gonna wet himself!" someone shouted with glee.

Burt stomach churned just a little bit at the sight of the trembling kid being swung around, wrinkling his bird-like nose, looking nauseated. Burt shoved his hands in his soft letterman jacket and shoved aside the guilty conscience. He knew he had the social pull to get them to stop, but how long could he stick up for loser kids before his teammates decided he was a loser, too?

"Leave him alone!"

Burt felt both surprise and relief at the sound of a girl's angry voice. He turned around with the rest of the crowd to see where the voice came from. It was her. That one girl at the back of History class whose name he could never remember. He remembered her dark blond hair and the charcoal gray boots she wore everyday, but not her name. She always kept to herself. Scowled a lot. Burt knew that the other girls didn't like her, but maybe that was because they didn't get her. Maybe they thought she was snobby because she never talked to anybody.

She stormed through the crowd, her thick honey-colored hair bouncing behind her and her pink fists clenched. She wore an oversized gray sweatshirt that sagged down to her knees with a crisp white Peter Pan collar sticking out of the top. Burt couldn't help but think that she looked pretty when she was angry.

"Put him down," she ordered loudly, standing defiantly in front of Paul and Brad and folding her arms.

"Or what?" Paul smirked, looking her up and down with his beady blue eyes.

"What, is he your boyfriend?" Brad teased, looking like a fire hydrant with his bright tufts of red hair sticking out of his head with reckless abandon.

"Not possible," laughed some sandy-haired prep from the crowd, "Berry's a fag!"

"Shut up, Russell!" the girl yelled furiously, glaring daggers at the prep and silencing the murmuring crowd.

"Listen, you oughta beat it, sweetheart," Paul shook his head, "One way or another, this nancy's gettin' tossed."

"Paul Karofsky," the girl said gravely, her gray eyes unbelievably piercing, "Put him down or I will make you."

Fear flickered in Paul's eyes before he simply shook his head and laughed.

"Guys," Burt spoke up, walking forward to his teammates, "Come on. Put him down."

"Dude," Brad wrinkled his brow, "Are you serious?"

"What's the big deal?" Burt shrugged, "There are plenty other nerds to pick on. Let her have this one."

Paul gave Burt a quizzical expression before sighing, "Alright." The boys set down the gawky teenager who had turned a pale shade of green. The girl put her hand tentatively on the boys' shoulder before glaring back at Paul and Brad with her steely eyes.

"Leave Hiram alone from now on. Or else."

"Ooh, I'm so scared," laughed Brad.

"You should be," the girl said gravely and walked away with her arm around the skinny boy.

The crowd began to disperse, unhappy with the lack of action. Burt stared after the girl as Paul sidled up to him.

"What's your deal today, man?" he asked, looking somewhat concerned.

"Who was that girl?" asked Burt.

Paul smirked. "You like her, don't you? That explains it. You like the weird ones."

"Do you know her name or not?"

"Uh... I don't know. I know she hangs out with that hippy chick, Melinda or something," Paul shrugged, his eyes searching through the cheerleaders who were sauntering back to the football field to begin practise, "Hey! Judy!"

A skinny girl with brilliantly blond hair turned around, her makeup flawless and her dark blue eyes alarmingly wide. "What?" she asked innocently, looking between Paul and Burt.

"Do you know who that weird chick was?" he asked her.

Judy rolled her eyes. "Lizzy Martin. I have fourth period Home Ec with her. She's totally weird. She always hangs out in the library and she started wearing that stupid silver cross necklace when everyone knows that cross necklaces are my thing. She can't even pull them off and I bet hers isn't even real silver-"

"Great. Thanks, Jude," Paul winked and waved her away, turning back to Burt, "There's your answer."

xxx

The pile of books in Elizabeth's hands were heavy and thick with dust but she was sure she would need them. She worriedly looked down at the occult symbols adorning the spine of the dusty old manuscripts. Melissa and Mrs. S's knowledge could only get her so far.

She rounded the corner and suddenly collided with a burly boy clad in a red and white McKinley letterman jacket. Her books clattered to the floor and loose, time-colored pages floated out. Elizabeth sighed irritably and bent down to gather her things. The boy squatted in his denim jeans and started to help her with his heavy hands.

"Lizzy, right?" he asked as he collected her books.

"Elizabeth," she corrected him without looking up.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'm-"

"Burt Hummel. The quarterback. I know," she said with a little disdain.

"Oh... Well, listen, I'll get my team to back off of your friend, Hiram, if you want. They won't mess with him if I tell 'em not to."

"How valiant of you," she said bitterly.

"So, what are you doing tonight?"

Elizabeth looked up, bewildered. "Why?"

"Well, there's a place called Breadstix-"

"Yeah, I know," she replied, staring blankly, her impatience festering.

"Would you like to go? To Breadstix? Tonight, for dinner?" he awkwardly proposed, "...With me?"

Elizabeth gaped at him. Was Burt Hummel sincerely asking her out on a date? Impossible. He was the quarterback of the football team. He was broad-shouldered and stoic and looked like Billy Joel, with his dark hair and handsome, round face. He hung out with all of the people she hated. Judy Smith would have sold her soul for a date with Burt Hummel. Of course, Elizabeth was suspicious. The only way this scenario could end was with her covered in pigs' blood.

"Your eyes are blue," he said when she took too long to answer, staring at her eyes with a quiet intensity.

"Wh... What?"

"Your eyes. I swore they were gray before."

"Oh," she said, starting to blush, "I- They changed. I mean, they look like they change. Depending on what I'm wearing. Or... the lighting, I guess."

"Like a chameleon," said Burt.

"Uh, yeah. Kind of. They have a name for it, but I- I can't remember."

"They're beautiful. So... do you want to go out tonight?"

Elizabeth blinked and snapped out of the brief hold Burt had on her. "Um. No."

"No?"

"What, you never heard the word before?" she asked, glibly, standing up with her books messily piled in her arms.

Burt's brow furrowed. "No as in never, or 'no' as in you're busy tonight?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. Part of her thought this whole date thing was just a joke, but part of her both feared and hoped that Burt was sincerely putting himself out there.

"I'm... I'm busy tonight."

She could've sworn Burt looked hopeful. Why Burt Hummel ever noticed a girl like her was a mystery, but she was flattered all the same. Burt watched as she hurried away with her pile of library books. He realized once she was out of sight that he should have helped her carry them. He really wished he had at least offered.

xxx

Elizabeth took the darkest seat in an alcove in the corner of the colorful restaurant and placed a menu in front of her face, peering out every so often to watch for suspicious behavior. This was apart of her duty. Haunting the local hot spots - which there weren't very much of - in order to keep people safe. Of course, she didn't do a lot of hanging out in the town's most popular hangouts. She was like a silent savior. She was like... Batman.

"Lizzy?"

Elizabeth peered over her menu to see Melissa standing over her booth, smiling down at her with her wide, full lips. Elizabeth couldn't help but smirk back at her best friend. Her only friend. Melissa Cohen was a pretty girl with tumbling brown hair and freckles sprinkled over her delicate face. The only reason she was as unpopular as Elizabeth herself is that Melissa wore clothes that were at least a decade out of fashion. Well, and because of Melissa's very specific kind of interests.

"Are you patrolling tonight?" she asked, smiling widely.

"Melissa, quiet. People might hear you. And it's Elizabeth."

Melissa took a seat, looking like a flower child in her flowing eyelet lace maxi dress and sleeveless, denim vest. "Ooh. Like Elizabeth Collins from Dark Shadows. Or like from Frankenstein. Oh! Or like the Edgar Allan Poe poem. Elizabeth, it surely most fit-"

"No, Mel. Elizabeth, like, Elizabeth Martin. Like, Elizabeth the vampire slayer."

Melissa's brown eyes brightened. "That sounds so cool. Elizabeth the Vampire Slayer. Very 19th century."

"Thanks," Elizabeth said indifferently, her eyes shifting to the other side of the restaurant.

"Watcha lookin' at?" wondered Melissa, turning around to see Burt Hummel entering through the doors with a few football guys and the head cheerleader, Judy Smith.

"Nothing," Elizabeth frowned, quickly looking away.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Elizabeth sighed with defeat, "Do you know Burt Hummel?"

"Of course I know Burt Hummel. Every girl in school is obsessed with Burt Hummel."

"I think he asked me out today."

"What do you mean you think he asked you out?"

"Well, he asked me to dinner. Tonight. Here."

"Burt Hummel asked you out?"

"I know. It must have been a joke or something. They're trying to play a prank on me because I got mad when I caught them bullying Hiram."

Melissa turned back around and looked at Burt taking a seat at one of the bigger booths with his friends. "I don't know. He's got a very blue aura. I think he means well."

"He's a pig-headed jock. Just look at the people he hangs out with."

"He's still just a kid."

"He's the same age as we are."

"Physically," Melissa shrugged, "I take it you said no."

"Obviously. That's why he's slumming it with those beef-heads and that... witch."

Present Day

"Son, I wanna make it clear that your mother actually did say the word witch."

"Right," Kurt nodded.

"No, really. Judy Smith was... an actual witch."

"Yeah, Dad, I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah. So's her daughter. Does this come into the story?"

"Well, no... Anyways..."

1988 Again

"They deserve each other," Elizabeth sneered.

"Gosh. He must have really bothered you, huh?"

Elizabeth frowned and squirmed uncomfortably. "He said my eyes were beautiful."

"That chauvinistic bastard."

"Oh my God, he's coming over."

Elizabeth looked up with pure terror on her face as Burt Hummel neared the girls' booth.

"Hello," Melissa smiled widely, practically making heart eyes at him.

"Uh, hey, I just wanted to say, hey."

"Great. Bye," said Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, don't be so shy!" Melissa smiled devilishly, "She's just embarrassed. She's sorry she wasn't available tonight, but we already made plans together and, you know, girls gotta have their girltime."

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose.

"That's okay," Burt shrugged.

"But she's totally available tomorrow night."

"No I'm not," frowned Elizabeth, "I have to go."

"Lizzy, don't be like that," Melissa teased.

"Elizabeth!" she snapped, "And I have to go."

Elizabeth stormed from her seat and weaved through the rows of booth seats to the back entrance. Melissa looked up at Burt's perplexed and concerned expression and smiled apologetically.

"She's... not feeling well," she said weakly and rose from her seat to follow her friend.

Melissa found herself in the dark and damp back alley of Breadstix where she quickly spotted her lithe blond friend in her oversized clothes.

"Lizzy-"

"Eliz-"

"Elizabeth, okay, I get it! What is up with you?!"

"Nothing, I just... I don't want to go out with Burt. I don't even want him to notice me. I just... I like being alone."

"Well, too late. You don't have to go out with me but he likes you so you could try being-"

"What? Nice? I'm not nice and I don't owe him anything."

"I get it. You're the mean, badass, stoic Elizabeth the vampire slayer. Doesn't mean you have to avoid people like the the plague."

"I don't avoid people! I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"Me and Mrs. S can't exactly give you a thriving social life. What are you so afraid of?"

Elizabeth scowled. "I'm not afraid, I... I really did have to go."

"For what?"

A blood curdling scream rang out in the night air.

"For that."

The girls raced around the corner of Breadstix to see a girl being backed into a corner by a vamp, his yellowing fangs bared and his eyes a piercing red. Elizabeth didn't beat around the bush. She kicked at the vamp's ankles, knocking him down, his head slamming heavily against the concrete ground. As the victim ran away, Elizabeth had the vamp pinned underneath her, wincing away from her cross necklace before she drove her wooden stake through his heart. He burst into dust, not leaving even his clothes as evidence of his existence.

"Good work," Melissa smiled crookedly, "Elizabeth the vampire slayer."

"The what?"

Elizabeth and Melissa whipped their heads around to see Burt hovering around the corner.

"Oh no," Elizabeth cringed.

Melissa frowned. "Burt. You didn't happen to see-"

"You stab a guy until he explodes into dust?!" he asked, staring wide-eyed with awe at Elizabeth, "Yeah. I might've seen that."

Present Day

"Then what happened?" asked Kurt, leaning forward with intense interest.

"Wish I could tell you, buddy. I think I blacked it out. Next thing I knew, I was in the back of your mom's prized Impala and she was taking me to see her watcher."

"Her watcher? Who was her watcher?"

"Debra Schuester."

"Mr. Schuester's mom?"

"The one and only. That lady was pretty tough."

"What did she say?"

Burt grunted and tugged the top of his baseball cap. "You're gonna be late for school, bud."

"Dad, come on. You can't start telling me about my mother and then stop."

"I'll tell you about your mother until the cows come home, but there are parts of your mother's life that I'm not equipped to tell."

"Like what?"

"Like when she fell in love with me. That came out of nowhere."

"Who else is there that possibly knows as much as her as you do?"

Burt pursed his lips in thought. "Pretty sure Melissa still lives in Lima. We never really stayed in touch after your mother..." he trailed off.

"Melissa Cohen?"

"Yeah. She has a daughter in your school. Christina."

Kurt furrowed his brow in thought. "Christina...?"

"Yeah. Christina Cohen-Chang."

"Tina?"

xxx

Kurt parked outside the Cohen-Chang residence. It was easy to spot, with Mr. Chang's Volkswagon bus parked outside with a giant purple peace sign painted on the side. He knew the dean at Dalton would complain mercilessly about the missed days of school and skipped classes that had built up in his record over the past few weeks, but Kurt couldn't have cared less. One piece of information about his mother was like bait and now he needed all of it. He wanted to know everything about her. Not just about being slayer, but about her.

He rapped on the door and listened to the sound of the wind chimes tinkling on the porch before Mrs. Cohen answered the door. Kurt had seen her before, at Parent Teacher meeting and assemblies at McKinley, but she'd never been so significant as she was now. If he wasn't mistaken, he thought he'd seen her eyes light up when she answered the door. She didn't look very much like her daughter, except for similarities here and there, like the dimples when they smiled and the full bottom lip. This was my mother's best friend, Kurt thought.

"Can I help you?" asked Mrs. Cohen, smiling warmly, with flecks of orange paint set into the blue velvet dress she was wearing, a band of gray lace tied around her forehead and just barely taming her unbrushed brown hair.

"Um, yes..." Kurt said, staring at her and wondering how to proceed, "You're Melissa Cohen?"

Melissa nodded. "Come in," she said without any further conversation and stepped back to let him through.

Kurt walked in, rubbing his hands against his legs and taking in the bowls of moonstones and abstract artwork that adorned the walls and shelves of the hallway.

"I was just painting," she said, leading Kurt through the messy living room and to an even messier room that was crowded with a sewing machine, a pottery table and a large easel that held a canvas of orange and black and baby pink splatters.

"What do you think?" she asked, gesturing to the painting.

"Um... nice."

"Be honest. Too cynical? Too garish? Too idyllic?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "It's very... orange."

Melissa widened her eyebrows at Kurt and then at the painting. "Very orange. Yes. God, it is very orange. Too orange. I want to let people feel, not force them to."

"Orange and pink don't really work together."

"No. The innocence and the sensuality of life. It's a jarring perversion. The one thing that's actually impressive about this piece. Thank you, Kurt, you have a very good eye."

He noticed that she knew his name even though he hadn't told her, but he didn't mention it.

"You knew my mother."

Melissa turned from her painting and smiled warmly at Kurt. "Elizabeth," she nodded sadly, "You must have so many questions."

"Yeah. And I know the truth. About what she was."

"Do you?" smiled Melissa, "I doubt even she knew."

"She was a slayer."

"Yes. Yes, she was."

"I know you were her best friend."

"Which is why you're here. Come on, I'll make you tea."

Melissa quickly led him away into the kitchen and began to make tea in an old-fashioned tea leaf strainer. He noticed Tina's flawless report cards held to the fridge with magnets that had inspirational quotes on them. He noticed picture frames standing up on the windowsill above the sink. The Cohen-Changs together at picnics and festivals. One of Buffy, Tina and Rachel together at last year's Regionals. One of Melissa and a young blond woman. His mother. He was suddenly a little jealous of the fact that this woman knew his mother better than he did.

"Cane sugar?"

"Um, yes, please."

"I never did convert Elizabeth to tea. She was a coffee girl."

Kurt smiled. No, he wasn't jealous. He was pleased to find someone who could give him those insignificant details about his mother. His dad was surely romantic enough to notice these things about her but he wasn't the kind of guy to articulate those tidbits. Kurt was happy with the thought of his mother sitting at The Lima Bean.

"I'm kind of a coffee guy," Kurt shrugged.

"Doesn't surprise me," Melissa smirked as she stirred small rocks of sugar into the hot tea, "Elizabeth had a very healthy pregnancy but the one thing she always indulged in was a cup of coffee. You probably have caffeine for blood."

Kurt chuckled. "That wouldn't surprise me, either," he said, and then frowned sadly, "Why didn't you visit? After she died?"

Melissa handed him a teacup with a thoughtful expression and took a seat at the kitchen table, which Kurt noticed had mismatched chairs surrounding it and things carved into the surface, like spirals and rune symbols and 'Tina was here '03'.

"When we heard about your mother's death, I came over just a few times, for you and your father. After awhile, I realized my presence wasn't needed. Nor was it necessarily wanted. Me being around only reminded Burt of Elizabeth. She had left a year before her death and now she was really, truly gone. I thought staying out of your life would let the both of you move on with it."

Kurt bit the inside of his cheek. "I wish you hadn't."

Melissa smiled sympathetically and squeezed Kurt's pale hand. "Oh, Kurt. I wish I hadn't had to. I was so excited when Elizabeth had you. You came only a few months after Tina. I had all these ideas that you'd call me Auntie Melissa and you and Tina would be like cousins."

Kurt stared at the kitchen table, hoping tears wouldn't come to his eyes. That kind of childhood - one with a mother figure and a real friend - sounded so much nicer than the one he'd had. The one with only his father, who was loving, but broken. Would this house have been more familiar to him? Would he be allowed to have carved his name into the kitchen table and give Melissa daily critiques on her artwork? Maybe he and Tina would have been best friends. Maybe he would've done her hair and she would have taught him all about vampires. Maybe Kurt wouldn't have had to transfer schools and Tina wouldn't have had to fake a stutter for sixteen years.

"Things are never so simple, though," frowned Melissa.

Kurt nodded, his thoughts dissolving. "No. They never are."

"You should know that even though I wasn't in your life, I never stopped thinking of myself as your family. If I say so myself, I'm very good at keep watch from afar. And I'm sorry to hear you had to transfer to Dalton academy."

Kurt blinked at her, surprised. "...Well, thank you."

"I just wish I could help. It's difficult to do when you're not apart of someone's life."

"Well, you can be apart of my life now. It's not too late."

Melissa smiled. "No, it's not too late."

"Does Tina know? About me and my mother?"

"No. I never spoke a word of your mother to anyone except my husband. But Tina's a very, very smart girl. It wouldn't come as a shock to her. Not now that she's such good friends with the new slayer."

Kurt's mouth hung open. "You know...?"

"Like I said, I'm very good at keeping watch from afar. Buffy has visited once or twice. She so reminds me of Elizabeth and at the same time is completely different."

"Please tell me what she was like."

"Where to start? Elizabeth was a loner. It took her months to warm up to me. Thank God I kept trying. She was very committed to her duty as a slayer. I think it gave her purpose. And took up most of her time. She never did like going home. She wasn't very close with her father. Your grandfather."

Kurt nodded. This he knew. He always received Christmas presents and occasional visits from his dad's parents but never his mother's. Burt would always grumble under his breath that Mr. Martin was married to his bank account.

"Mr. Martin was more enigma than father. He was someone I'd always heard about but never really seen. Like some presence. Elizabeth never had curfews or boundaries. For someone who liked order as much as she did, she didn't seem to have much of it. I think that's why she liked slaying so much in the beginning. There was a code and a mission."

"Until she fell in love with my dad?"

"Even when she fell in love with your dad, slaying was a big part of her life. I think her priorities really changed when you came into the picture. She didn't want to be a slayer anymore. All she wanted to do was be your mother. She knew this would be a difficult process. It's not something that's easy to just quit. There are prophecies in place. The Watcher's Council was up in arms. In the end, Debra fought for her."

"Debra Schuester."

"Yes. Your mother's watcher. She was like a mother to Elizabeth. Especially in the end. She was by her through absolutely everything. Her marriage. Her pregnancy. Her death. She even helped name you."

Kurt raised a thin eyebrow. "She did?"

Melissa nodded, a smile growing on her face. "We all did. God, you were so loved. You are so loved. Were you ever told what your name means?"

Kurt shook his head. "I think... I think Kurt is German. And my middle name's an homage to my mother as well as a plot to make high school even harder for a gay teen."

Melissa laughed. "Well, Elizabeth wanted to name you Burt, Jr. if you were a boy and Burt wanted to name you Elizabeth, Jr. if you were a girl. It was all very loving and sweet but the rest of us wanted them to be a bit more creative. Have you ever taken a look at your birth certificate?"

"No."

"Well, if you do, you'll find it doesn't say Kurt Elizabeth Hummel."

"It doesn't?"

"No. As it turns out, Kurt is a portmanteau for Kid Burt."

"You're kidding," Kurt smiled.

"No," Melissa laughed, shaking her head.

"My name is Kid Burt."

Melissa nodded, starting to laugh harder. "No-one wanted to mix you up with your father but your mother was so set on naming you after him. We had to compromise."

"That's embarrassing," Kurt grinned.

"Yes, well, at least it's not as big a mouthful as your middle names."

"My middle names? As in, plural?"

"Yeah. See, we never could settle on a middle named. We decided it should be Elizabeth, but Burt didn't want you to have a girl's name. So, Elizabeth is another portmanteau."

Kurt grimaced. "For what?"

"Elliott Zachary Bernard Theodore. In the end, your dad just stuck with Elizabeth."

"I wonder why that was. It's not like Kid Burt Elliott Zachary Bernard Theodore Hummel is difficult to say when you're angry."

Melissa smiled and sipped her tea. "Your mother liked the name Elliott ever since she saw the movie E.T. I added Zachary because, well, Saved By The Bell was pretty popular when I was a kid. Your father added Bernard after your grandfather. And Debra added Theodore."

"After the president or the chipmunk?"

"After Theodorus the Atheist. The philosopher. Debra was a very wise woman."

"Was?"

"Well, is. But no-one's really kept in touch with her. She prefers solitude these days."

"I need to talk to her."

"Kurt, I don't think that's a good idea."

"You don't understand. I need to know everything about her and if you say Mrs. Schuester was like her mother then how can I not talk to her? She knew my mom in a way no-one else did. And you say she was with her when she died?"

Melissa nodded.

"Then she needs to tell me about it. I'm not going to able to rest until I find out everything I can. I've been biting my tongue and holding back questions about my mother for seventeen years. I can't do it anymore."

"I understand," Melissa said sympathetically, "But Debra lives in Cleveland now. You shouldn't go alone."

Kurt frowned. "Will you go with me?"

"I don't think Debra will want to see me. Or your father."

"Then who?"

They heard the front door open and close and the click of boots came towards them from the hall. Tina stepped into the kitchen with her black backpack still strapped to her shoulders. She looked confused as her eyes landed on Kurt.

"What are you doing here?" she asked innocently, looking at her mother and at their cups of tea.

Melissa sighed and smiled as she leaned forward. "Christina, we need to talk."

Tina frowned. "Am I in trouble? You only call me Christina when I'm in trouble or when you think I'm going to be upset."

"Not upset," smiled Melissa, "Surprised."

Tina's eyes landed on Kurt's again. "Is this about your mom being a slayer?"