Kurt POV

My phone spun in my fingers, its blank screen mocking me. I had to call Mercedes and let her know what had happened tonight. The longer I put this off, the madder she was going to be, and if she found out from someone else…I shuddered to think.

Before I could lose my nerve, I grabbed the phone and dialed. Maybe I would get lucky and she wouldn't pick up.

Of course she did. "Hello, Baby. How are you?"

"Better then I have been, thanks." My voice was tight. "I…I have something to tell you, and it's probably going to make you mad."

"You took Finn back." It wasn't a question. "This might be the stupidest thing you've ever done, and you've done a lot of stupid things."

"It might be." I couldn't very well deny it, since she could very well be right. "But it's what's happening. I want you to give us some space to work things out. Please, Mercedes, I'm begging you."

She sighed into the phone. "Does it have to be Finn? Really? There's no one else?"

I didn't even have to think about it. "There's no one else." For once, I was completely confident.

"Fine." If possible, her voice was even tighter then mine. "I will 100% leave Finn alone. Pinky promise."

Those were the right words, but there was an undercurrent of something that made me tense up. Mercedes can be brash, but she's also perfectly capable of being the iron hand in the velvet glove. She would keep her word and leave Finn alone herself, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to sit passively by in all this. Even if the rest of the team accepted us getting back together, she was never going to forgive him. "Please, Mercedes."

"I said that it was fine. What else do you want?" Now there was an edge, and I knew that it was time to be quiet.

"Nothing. I'm sorry."

She softened, just like I knew she would. "You know I'm just trying to look out for you. You know that I want things to be like they were, but they can't. I don't think that you're thinking this through."

"I've done nothing but think about this, ever since both of us opened our stupid mouths. Please, let us try this without anyone else butting in."

She didn't say anything, so I knew I had won this round. "So your trip is back on? You and Finn in New York?"

To be honest, that had never even occurred to me. Was it possible? Would it be too much stress on an already fragile relationship? It was bad enough when something went wrong here in Lima, where there was an entire house for Finn and Carole to retreat to. What would we do in a tiny hotel room?

Actually talk things out instead of running behind your parents like toddlers who can't wait to tattle?

Possibly. Maybe us being in a new situation, with so many new things to do and see would help mitigate some of the awkwardness that had taken over in the car. Didn't now what to say? No problem, lets walk around and explore. Talking is always easier when you don't have to look the person right in the face.

Mercedes was still waiting for an answer, only I didn't have one to give her. "I don't know. I didn't even think about that." I ran my fingers through my hair, not even caring that I was messing it up. "I guess it depends on how things go with Dad and Carole.

Of course, that necessitated a long explanation of what was happening with Dad and Carole, which was difficult when I didn't even understand it myself. All I knew was that things were way too complicated.

Finally she moved on to talking about Nationals, and all the strange things that are happening with Coach. Mercedes thinks she's just sick, but I think it has to be more. Coach would come to work with Ebola and the plague. Whatever was happening, it was bigger then the flu.

Things did ease up between Mercedes and I, and we were able to talk a little bit about other things. Between Finn and Cheerios, I hadn't been able to spend as much time with her as I used to, and it was nice to just be able to talk.

We chatted until I heard Dad's truck in the driveway. "I have to go. Dad's home."

She whistled. "That man is going to be for a world of hurt."

"Yep. I'll call you tomorrow."

Dad cut the engine in the driveway, rather then coming into the garage as he usually did. There was no reason for him to do that, other then the fact that the garage door was noisy, and I would be alerted that he was home. Nice try, Dad, but you aren't getting out of this one. I stood in the darkened kitchen and crossed my arms, glaring.

Sure enough, he attempted to sneak in like a thief in the night. I let him get the door locked behind him before I spoke. "Hello, Father."

He jumped, which was gratifying. "Jesus, Kurt! Why are you standing there in the dark?"

"Where were you?" I tried not to sound accusing, but I could hear it in my voice. "I came home and you weren't here."

"I was…out. I had to see someone about some parts."

Really? I didn't know what offended me more. The fact that he had just lied to my face, or the fact that he thought that I would believe that he was seeing people about parts way past closing time. "Carole Hudson's parts?" Dear God, that came out in Finn's voice.

"That's an inappropriate thing to say. You can be upset with me, but I don't want to hear you talk about any woman that way."

He was right. This wasn't Carole's fault, and I had been crude. "Sorry."

"But, yes, I was talking to Carole." He started to say more, but I interrupted him.

"So, you were going to forbid me from seeing, Finn, but go behind my back to see his mother?"

"I didn't go behind your back, because I am an adult and I don't need your permission to speak to another adult. However, I did take a page from your book. Things ended very badly for all four of us, and I thought we needed to talk things out and apologize."

He was buttering me up and I knew it, but it was still nice to hear. Finn and I had been brave and acted like adults, and I was proud that he had noticed. "What did you two decide?"

"We decided that there is plenty of fault to go around. You boys made your mistakes, but she and I should have intervened long before it came to that. She and I thought that we would love each other, and you two would love each other and that was all it would take. We need to have some serious discussions about how to handle things with the two of you, and we didn't. This was going to fail right from the beginning."

Oh, now he got it. Not to excuse either Finn's behavior or my own, but things would have turned out better if we had been allowed to try ourselves instead of our parents getting involved.

You were pretty damn grateful for those parents in the heat of the moment, weren't you?

That didn't make it right. It made things easy, maybe, but not right. It was time for Finn and I to try and act like adults. "I think so, too."

His responding smile was strained, like he might want to cry instead. Like me, he was probably realizing what he had lost, and how each one of his own mistakes played into the explosion that had blown our families apart.

"Are you getting back with her?" Did I want him to say yes? Did I want him to say no? Did I want the normal, slightly uncomfortable life I had had before they hooked up, or the wild, sometimes dizzy, ride that it had been the past few months?

Did you really just ask that? Could you even consider having your old life back? The one where you had no friends, no boyfriend, and a father who barely remembered that you existed? If you can pull this off, you'll have a boyfriend, you'll have a Mom, you'll have Glee and the Cheerios. You would be a fool to pass that up.

"That has yet to be decided. I love her, and I do want to be with her. But that might not be possible. It may be that we're better of staying apart; at least until you boys are out of the house. I started to object, and he held up a hand. "It's just one of the things that we discussed. Whatever we decide will be decided because we feel like it's the best choice for all four of us. I know that you think you're the second adult in this house, but you aren't. You got to make your decision about Finn, and I supported it. I need you to support the decision I make about Carole."

So was I a child who had to listen, or an adult who he could lean on for support? I didn't say that though, because I was noticing something else for the first time. Dad wasn't making eye contact, which meant he was lying to me. He and Carole had made a decision; he just didn't want to tell me about it yet. Which probably meant that he was getting back with her.

It was what Finn and I had both agreed we wanted for them. I'm just not sure if it's what either one of us want for ourselves. But we had been selfish long enough, and, even if it was terrible, it was another year and a half, tops. "I think you should give it another chance. I'm ok with it, I promise."

"I'll keep that in mind."

I didn't give him a chance to orient himself before I asked my next question. "Are Finn and Carole still coming to New York with us?"

He visibly blanched, and I knew that I had hit a nerve. "Well….the tickets are already bought and the hotel rooms booked. I know that Carole is still planning on taking Finn, but that doesn't mean that we have to do anything together. They can do their thing, and we can do our thing."

So it was going to be the four of us. Maybe we could salvage things after all. "What are we going to do about the hotel rooms? Finn can't share a single with Carole, and, no offense, I don't want to share a double bed with you, either."

Clearly he hadn't considered that, and he faltered again. "Maybe we can get the rooms upgraded."

With two weeks notice and the week of Spring Break? Good luck with that. "That could work."

"You let me worry about that, alright? Nothing is set in stone yet, and we might have to make some changes in the future. But let's worry about that when it happens, ok? You need to focus on your school, and getting ready for Glee and Cheerios competitions, ok?"

"Ok." I couldn't help but feel pleased that he was paying attention to what I was up to. "I love you."

"Love you, too. Now homework and bed. Remember to give yourself some extra time in the morning if you're picking up Finn."

Even though today had gone even better then I had dreamed of, I still had trouble falling asleep. What if tomorrow was horrible? Finn could still change his mind and decide that I wasn't worth it after all. Not to mention I was going to have to face the Glee club and tell them that we had changed our minds. Logically, I knew that probably no one cared, and most of those who did would probably just be happy that the drama was over and we hadn't killed each other.

Most, but not all. I don't know if Mercedes will ever trust Finn again. Finn might not notice, or care if he did notice, but it was a fracture in the team. Puck would never forgive me; I knew that as well as I knew my own name. He might get away with treating Finn poorly himself, but he would never let anyone else hurt his boy. He wouldn't do anything to outright harm me, but I didn't know if I could trust him to have my back. And when you're me, knowing who will help in an emergency is not only a benefit, it's a necessity.

I flitted in and out of strange dreams all night. Finn was Finn, he was Coach Sylvester, he was my father. I was me, I was something else, I was not there at all. Throughout it all, I just kept hearing those words, both what I had said and what he had, echoing around. But on top of it all, I heard Finn telling me that he loved me, and that all was forgiven.

It wasn't until I had already left that another horrifying thought occurred to me. What if Carole was still home? Was I supposed to talk to her? What should I say? I had ruined her relationship with my father by not speaking up when I should have. Did she hate me?

Fortunately, Finn was alone on the porch, sitting there and eating a banana. Six months ago, I would have thought that he had made a random breakfast choice. Now? Finn has depths that I've only begun to discover. He might well have been sending me a message.

He appeared to be lost in his own world, so I tapped the horn to get his attention. He grabbed his bag and climbed in. Once he was in, though, he stopped. His body rocked forward, then back, then forward, before he looked down.

Two weeks ago, he would have kissed me, which was what he wanted to do now. Two days ago, he probably would have hit me. Now he didn't know what to do, and I wasn't sure what I wanted him to do. Trusting Finn had come naturally, but rebuilding that trust once shattered wasn't quite so easy. Finally he split the difference and pecked me on the cheek. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem." This was awkward, which was exactly what I didn't want it to be. Frantically, I groped for something, anything, to say to him.

As it turned out, I didn't need to say anything. Finn had been talking to people, and he was full of gossip. "Coach Sylvester quit."

That couldn't be true. Nothing short of death or the bubonic plague would cause Coach to quit right before Nationals. "What do you mean?"

"She quit. Her job, the Cheerios, everything. She hasn't been out of her apartment in days."

"Do you know why?" I struggled to keep my voice calm and controlled. Getting snappish or yelling never worked with Finn.

He shrugged and looked down. "I don't know." But his voice said something different.

"Do you have a guess?" Sometimes I could trick him into telling me things if I asked for an opinion rather then a fact.

"Well...no one told me this. I just kind of think it on my own." He paused, and I thought I might have to keep fishing. Then he picked it up again. "I think it has to do with Mr. Shue. He's been strutting around like he's cock of the walk, all smug and shit. He's got nothing else to be smug about, so it's got to be that he got her."

I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye. "How do you feel about that? It's like Karma, you know. She screwed you over right before your big competition, now she's been screwed over right before Nationals. You reap what you sow."

"That's mean. I don't want to be a huge douche like that." But he looked away from me when he said it. There was a part of him that loved seeing Coach Sylvester brought down. "Besides, it's not just her. If she quits, the Cheerios are over. You don't get to go to Florida, and I know you'll make them win."

I hadn't thought of that. Was I really going to miss my big chance because our teachers couldn't get along? "Oh." It came out dejected.

He flinched. "But maybe not. I mean, we went to our Glee competition without a teacher, you guys could do it too."

There was a huge difference between 11 people making it four hours across the state, and having 25 people fly six states away. The Glee club also had the benefit of having a bond that the Cheerios didn't. I trusted any of my cheer team mates to catch me in a throw. I wouldn't even get in a car with more then 4 or 5 of them, and most of those were in Glee as well. Actually travel? Yeah, right. "I don't…." I trailed off, because I wasn't sure what I was trying to say.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you sad. I just wanted you to know, so it wasn't a surprise when you got to school." He was pulling away, afraid that he had screwed things up between us again.

I reached out and took his hand, stroking the back of it with my thumb. "No, you did the right thing. I'm glad that you told me."

His fingers tightened around mine and I squeezed back, grateful for the connection between us. I tried to change the subject. "So, what do you think is going on with our parents?"

"They're together again." He made a face that suggested he was a few seconds away from gagging. "It's disgusting."

"I thought we agreed that we would be mature about them getting back together if that was what they wanted." Finn could be so damn fickle sometimes.

"She came home with a hickey last night. A hickey! That's disgusting and really nasty of your father."

He was right, but one of us had to at least pretend to be adult here. "You've put hickeys on me before. I mean, yes, it's a little juvenile, but it's not the end of the world."

"Yeah, but I know what kind of dirty thoughts I'm thinking when I do it, and no one should think that way about my Mom. It's wrong."

Oh look, the temperature in the car just jumped 20 degrees again. "I…um…." I shook my head to clear it. "Let's just not think about them right now."

"Ok. But he needs to watch himself." Finn's voice was a low growl.

"So, New York is still on." I hoped that a trip would be a big enough distraction.

It was. "I know! I'm going to get to ride on a plane, and see a Broadway play, and eat a hot dog from a cart and maybe see the Statue of Liberty. That's in New York, right?"

"Yes, we'll make sure that you see the Statue. But I don't know if you'll get to try Broadway this year. I think Dad only bought two tickets."

"Oh yeah." He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe another time. But I can still have a hot dog, right? There have to be lots of those in New York."

Somehow, I doubted Broadway was on Finn's Bucket List to start with. "We can go to a different hot dog cart every day if you want."

"Yay!" McKinley appeared in front of us and he took a deep breath. "Is this going to suck?"

"Maybe." I squeezed his hand again before letting go. "But luckily only the Glee club ever knew we were together anyway, so they're the only ones who we're going to have to hear it from. And I'm sure most of them don't care."

"Probably mostly Puck and Mercedes. Rach will be happy, because she wants us to win and we probably won't if we're fighting. Mr. Shue will be happy, since he doesn't' like it when we're miserable. Santana will be a bitch." He ticked his remaining fingers, trying to think of anyone else who would be interested in what he and I were currently doing with our genitalia. "I guess that's it. That's not so bad. Except I'm a little scared of Mercedes. She could kill me and bury my body."

I held my fist up to bump, the same way I had seen Finn do with the other guys. "You keep me out of the dumpster with Puck, and I'll keep you out of a shallow grave with Mercedes."

"Deal." He gave me a saucy little grin. "I have a surprise for you. Actually, two surprises, but you only get one today."

Really? Maybe I should get to work on finding something for him.

I can think of something you could find for him. It's in your pants.

There wasn't much I disliked about that idea. "Can I have a hint?"

"You get it in Glee." He frowned. "Wait, that kind of gave it away that it's a song. But I'm not giving you a hint about which song, so it's still kind of a surprise."

"That's a beautiful thought, Finn. But how do you come up with these songs so fast?" It usually took me at least a week to come up with something.

"Last time Puck helped me, even though he hated the song and thought that I was being a pussy. This time Rach helped me with the song, but I picked it a long time ago and made Puck learn it. Like, pretty much the same night we had our fight."

My heart fluttered. "You knew we would get back together?"

"I hoped so. But even if we didn't I thought that I should probably use it anyway, to apologize. Because I was sorry right away."

"Me, too." I wanted him to know that I was as sorry as he was.

"I know. Water under the bridge. Or over it. Or around it. Whatever, you know what I mean." He slipped his seatbelt off and nodded. "Ready for this?"

"Ready." I didn't hold his hand, and he didn't put his arm around me, but he had never done those things before either. He stayed close by my side, though, which sent the same message. Other people might not know that we were together, but they would know that I was again under his direct protection and they better back off.

He walked me to my first class, just like he would have if none of this ever happened. "I'll see you at Glee."

I hated that this was our first day back together and he was going to be stuck in stupid tutoring over lunch. "Ok. I'll see you then."

Mercedes had saved a set next to her, and she pointed at it. Time to face the music.

But she was calm. Either she was willing to give Finn as second chance, or she had just decided that she was going to have to accept that he was in my life again. "You look happy."

There was no sarcasm behind her words. If anything, she seemed…happy for me? "I am happy."

"You know that I don't like this." She crossed her arms irritably. "But I haven't seen you smile at all in the past two weeks, much less like this. I'm just worried about you. He broke your heart, Kurt, and I don't want it to happen again."

"I don't want it to happen again, either. No one does. But please give us another chance." I had to make her understand how important this was to me. "Please."

She shook her head. "I think you're an idiot and so is he. But I want you happy, and I'm keeping my hands off of this one. But I want you to tell me that he's at least doing an appropriate amount of groveling."

"He's singing me a song in Glee, so probably." Even if it was a groveling song, I couldn't help but feel thrilled every time Finn sang anything to me.

"I can think of a few things he could sing." She saw my dirty look and held up her hands. "And that's the last thing I'm going to say about it."

Time would tell if she was able to hold to that promise, but I smiled and gave her a hug anyway. "I don't know what he's singing. He wanted it to be a surprise."

"It'll be cute. Finn's a good performer." The words were said grudgingly, but at least she said them.

"He is." Finn might not be the most talented singer, and his dancing certainly left quite a bit to be desired, but he had a passion that carried him through.

As much as I wanted to play it cool, like Finn singing for me was nice gesture and nothing more, I knew that it was more then that. It was a reclaiming, and letting everyone know that I was his. I couldn't wait.

When we got to the auditorium, Puck was sitting on the edge of the stage with his guitar and a very sour look on his face. He didn't want to be here, forgiving me, any more then Mercedes wanted to forgive Finn. But he would do it, just like she would, because they loved us. The two of them made eye contract and nodded slightly at each other. Uh-oh.

Mr. Shue stepped in. "Before we start today, Finn has a song he would like to perform. Quick, Finn, because we have a lot to do and not much time."

So he was back. I studied his face while Finn gestured Puck to get up. Had he really done something to Coach Sylvester like Finn, thought? I couldn't read people well, and I had no idea.

The first notes of the song trickled out, soft and sweet and everything else faded away. Finn bobbed his head slightly, counting the notes.

I had big plans for our future

Said I'd give you the whole world somehow

I tried making good on that promise

Thought I'd be so much further by now

Never could build you a castle,

Even though you're the king of my heart

But I've had the best of intentions

From the start

His eye contact was spectacular, but that was probably because he never took them off of me. He didn't care about the rest of the team, or Mr. Shue. This was me and him.

Now some people think I'm a loser

Cause I seldom get things right

But you make me feel like a winner

When you wrap me in your arms so tight

Please tell me you will remember

No matter how much I do wrong

That I had the best of intentions

All along

It was everything I had hoped he would say and do. My heart melted into a puddle of goo and I nodded at him, letting him know that I got his message.

I'd give you a ring, and I promised you things

I always thought we'd do

But my best laid plans

Slipped right through my hands,

To show my love for you

And if you could read my heart

Then you'd know without exception

It was all, with the best of intentions

The singing faded into an instrumental part, which gave me a chance to catch my breath. It was at that second that I knew I really forgave Finn. Hopefully he could see it in my eyes and he felt the same way about me.

So here I am asking forgiveness

And praying that you'll understand

Don't think I take you for granted,

Kurt, I know just how lucky I am

Though you deserve so much better

You won't find devotion more true

Cause I've had the best of intentions,

Kurt, I've had the best of intention

Yes, I've had the best of intentions

Loving you.

I was out of my seat before he finished the last note. I actually cut him off a little short by throwing myself into his arms. Things weren't perfect between us, but right at this second, they sure felt that way.

"Oh, God, the sausage love fest is back on." I didn't need to look to feel Santana's eyes rolling.

"Sure is." Finn didn't skip a beat. "Get used to it."

She snorted, but said nothing else. Mr. Shue smiled at us. "Ok, it seems like we've all managed to get ourselves out of the funk we were in. Well, almost all of us, that is. Coach Sylvester won't be bothering us any more. She's decided to take a leave of absence from her job for an undetermined amount of time."

So Finn had been right. Hearing Mr. Shue say that, and watching the smug expression on his face, I knew that he had been the one to drive her away. I just didn't know how I felt about it. Whatever he had done had been terrible, but I couldn't deny that she probably deserved it.

We worked hard, trying to get ready for our Regionals. Everyone had an opinion on what we should sing and nobody was particularly interested in anyone else's idea. Finn argued along with everyone else, but he kept one arm around me the entire time. I laid my head on his shoulder and listened.

Finn's huge, and when he puts an arm around my shoulders and drops his hand loose, he can actually brush my hip or thigh. He was doing that now, fingers trailing back and forth. It made me shiver.

Mr. Shue finally gave up on trying to corral us and just sent everyone to go look through the file cabinets that held out music. Everyone was supposed to be choosing a piece, and we would decide together on which one we would perform.

Finn seemed to have a pretty clear idea of what he wanted, but I wasn't sure. I just stood there, waffling between the things we usually did and I knew we could succeed at, or something a little out of the ordinary that the judges might look at and see our little group as something special.

"Kurt? A moment, please?" Mr. Shue signaled me over.

Oh, God, please let him now say anything about Finn or my sex life. I walked over. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to check that you were ok. I know that Sue quitting affects you a lot, and I don't want you to be too upset."

Honestly, I had Finn back. I was going to New York, probably with him. Yes, I was disappointed, but, all in all, my life was vastly improved over yesterday. But I can read between the lines, and I knew that he had basically just confessed to causing Coach to quit. "I'm alright. I'm disappointed of course, but it's no big deal. I mean, I have Glee and other stuff going on. But some of the girls have nothing. If we don't compete, the seniors could lose their scholarships."

His eyes widened, and I knew that he hadn't considered that. That was the problem with the two of them. They were so caught up in screwing each other over, that they didn't think about us. Coach Sylvester had gone after Finn for no reason other then he was Mr. Shue's favorite. He had struck back because he was tired of her antagonizing us to get to him. It was just like high school, even though they were adults.

"I see." He forced a smile. "Well, I'll let you get back to picking music. Rachel? I have to step out early today, so I'm leaving you in charge. I want everyone to have agreed on something by next rehearsal."

He was going to go talk to her, and try and make things right. Which, despite what I had told him, made me relieved. Everything was going back to normal, the way it had been a few weeks ago.

Finally, things were getting back on track.