May 2018
"Hey, Bob." Blaine said cheerfully, coming into Blaine's office two months later. "Here's your sweet te—oh no."
Bob, who was at his desk and staring at a paper, looked up. He then said, "Hi, Blaine. Thank you. I'll pay you back."
"You always get my food. Don't worry about it." Blaine looked at Bob closely. Something was obviously wrong—or, at least, not right. Bob never waited too long before taking a drink of sweet tea. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. Just filling out termination paperwork for three third year lawyers that Tammy was stupid enough to hire." Bob said sarcastically. "I shouldn't have said that. She's not stupid. She just failed to pay attention to how horrible they are… which was obvious after speaking to them individually in the two minutes it took to fire them."
Blaine snorted and then realized what Bob had said. "Wait, what?"
"Have you heard people talking about the case?" Bob asked, watching Blaine carefully.
"No. Why?"
"Well they probably don't talk about it around you because you're so close to me." Bob said, more to himself than to Blaine.
"What is going on…? What are they not saying around me?"
"Apparently a lot of people have been talking about my case which is not allowed even if it is high profile. I get that it can happen and it's annoying as hell but it's something to talk about on a slow day. What I don't get is how apparently three people felt the need to make fun of the girl for suing and not 'taking it' in the break room… in front of Ryan. He told them it wasn't very ethical to make jokes about a rape victim going through a terrible time and they just laughed at him… obviously not knowing that Ryan is gay or what happened to him."
Blaine's jaw dropped. "They were really saying things like that?"
"Yes. Ryan is really upset and has been downstairs with Tammy and Brian for a couple of hours. I came up to do this paperwork but I'm just so irritated by what happened that I can barely focus on it. If Tammy had looked at their social media, there's a lot of horrible stuff too. I bet each of those three were in a fraternity. I hate frat boys… except for Brian." Bob sighed. "And I hate Tuesdays."
"I didn't know you had a social media."
"I don't. Well, I do but I don't use it. I had Brady look them up on his and send me screenshots. Who has time for Facebook and Instagram? Who wants to post photos all the time? Don't young people have anything better to do?" Bob sighed again.
"Ryan is having a really tough time in New York." Blaine frowned. "Is he okay?"
"Yes but Jamie is picking him up now. He acted like he wanted to stay but I know he needs a mental break from this place. Jamie stopped in my office before he went to see Ryan, though. He's not very happy with me."
"You didn't do anything."
"Yep. I think that is why he let me have it."
"'Let you have it?'"
"I don't blame him. Ryan had one incident seven year ago around his wedding and that was it. In the last quarter year he's been called a faggot which blew up—rightfully so. And now you've got people joking about someone being attacked and raped in front of him when he went through that. I should have had a better handle on the rest of the staff. If people weren't getting away with talking about it, he never would have heard that and been put in this position."
"I mean… Isn't Brian a supervisor too?"
"He is but he is, like you, always with me working on stuff for the case. It's not my fault the guys said that or that people are talking about the case… but Ryan has been getting more and more anxious since arraignment happened on the case. He's probably going to get more and more anxious the closer it gets to trial. I should have had Ryan going places to ship stuff or anything to give him some time away or I should have made him take some PTO. Something."
"He wouldn't have taken PTO and he's still too busy working with the Verizon stuff to go and ship stuff for you." Blaine pointed out. "It's not your fault. Honestly, he's not been a partner very long and doesn't know the ins and outs yet. Tammy Jo should be here containing this. You've got a huge high profile case you're preparing for. Jamie shouldn't be taking it out on you."
"I told Jamie after he got triggered the first time, that I would make sure he wasn't triggered again. Ryan had a really hard time moving past what happened to him. He missed a week and a half when I had to take that case over for him. It was pretty bad. He's fine until it comes up but when it does…"
"You can't control other people, though. Wait, did Jamie know him back then? Were they together?"
"No but Jamie was a medical student at the hospital he was taken to. That's how they met. The incident happened in the beginning of Ryan's sophomore year and by the time he finished his junior year, they were a couple." Bob said. "That's actually how I met Ryan."
"Through Jamie?"
"No. I represented him in court after everything happened. Ryan's dad hired me within two hours of finding out what happened to Ryan. His dad is a very skilled architect and designed a lot of the neat buildings around town so he could easily afford it." Bob nodded. "When Ryan got admitted to Harvard his dad called me right away too… I called Ryan and offered him a paid internship with me a week into his first semester and he's worked for me since then."
"That's why you two are close."
"I think the assault and trial was why we were closer at first. You know people go through this horrible thing and they tell police and they tell strangers about something horrible that happened to you. I mean, I know every single detail about the single worst moment of his life. Some people want to never see their lawyer again after something like that and other people will keep in touch. We kept in touch a bit but once he started the internship… well, honestly, Ryan is one of my best friends now."
"If you two kept in touch, why didn't he tell you about law school?"
"I think he was embarrassed. His dad told me that I'm the reason he decided to become a lawyer. He's never told me that himself, though."
"Those guys saying that in front of Ryan still isn't your fault." Blaine's voice was soft. "You shouldn't feel bad for something you can't control."
"I know. But still." Bob took a deep breath as they heard footsteps approaching his office.
"Hey, I'm about to leave if it's okay."
Blaine turned, seeing Ryan just had just poked his head into Bob's office. He looked perfectly normal—no one would have guessed he'd spent hours crying so hard that his husband had left work.
"Take off a couple of days. It's Wednesday. Come back Monday."
"No. I will be in tomorrow. Thank you, Bob."
"Are you okay?" Bob asked—he had that same sad look he'd had before when Ryan had gotten into the huge argument with Jake and after Baine had seen those pictures for the first time.
"I'm fine. I really just want to pick up my baby and do nothing for a couple of hours... maybe nap with her?" Ryan admitted. "I may come in a little late tomorrow, though."
"If you want to, you should. Go get your babies." Bob nodded.
Ryan smiled at Blaine. "Congrats on the bar, Blaine! We're all so proud of you! 85th percentile!"
"Wait, what? The scores aren't up yet. How would you know that?"
"Yeah, I hadn't gotten to that yet." Bob said. "Thanks for stealing my thunder. I'm the one that put in the work to get the scores."
"What? 85th percentile as in I not only passed but did better than 85% of the people who took the test?" Blaine looked between Bob and Ryan.
"Yeah! Bob didn't even do that well!" Ryan said.
"He's right." Bob shrugged. He then told Blaine, "I know someone who works in the testing department. I was getting tired of waiting so I asked him how you and Adrian did."
"I passed the Bar! I passed the Bar? Wait… are you sure I passed the Bar?"
Ryan laughed at him. "Yes. Congrats! Go get drunk or eat so much junk food you collapse or wedding plan. Just have a good night!"
"Holy shit. What percentile was Adrian in?"
"I can't tell you that." Bob laughed.
Ryan pointed up and mouthed something.
"Ryan!" Bob said. "You can't tell him what Adrian scored!"
"But they both did so good."
"Did you mean 58th?" Blaine interrupted.
"No. Eight. Five. Eighty five." Bob said slowly. "You did better than 85% of the people who took the Bar."
"Holy shit." Blaine repeated and pulled out his cell phone. "I need to text Kurt."
"Look now. I just made your adorable intern happier than you ever could. My good deed for the day is done."
"Well I was going to be the one to make him that happy but you ruined it for me."
Jamie came in. "Ryan, let's go."
"Fine. But Blaine scored in the 85th percentile on the Bar."
"Woah." Jamie looked at Blaine. "Congrats."
Bob stood and said, "I'll walk you two out."
"You don't have to do that." Blaine heard Ryan say as they walked into the hallway.
Blaine sent a text to Kurt, hands literally shaking.
I passed the bar. I scored in the 85th percentile. WHAT?
He could see Kurt already tapping out a text—he must have been on lunch or a break to have answered so quickly. Then again, they usually only texted each other at work when it was something big… and this clearly was huge.
Oh my God. I knew you were smart but way to be an overachiever.
Blaine laughed out loud, reading Kurt's response.
In all seriousness, you worked your ass off for it. You are amazing and you deserve EVERYTHING this will bring you. I love you so much.
Thank you. I love you.
Blaine paused and then typed another message: !
He then took a deep breath, going to check the Bar's website. There were still no ID numbers or names listed… but it was Bob that got the test results and if Blaine had learned anything through prep for this case, it was that Bob knew people.
Bob knew a lot of people.
If Bob said that he passed and that was his score, then he passed and that was his score.
He sat in front of Bob's desk and took a deep breath. There were three identical papers laid out side by side, waiting for initials and signatures.
"I know you came in a little late today but once I finish up this, do you want to get lunch? I'm your boss and you're not allowed to say no."
"You don't have to do that." Blaine said.
"Are you kidding? You deserve a lot more than just a lunch. You did amazing." Bob sat behind his desk. "Plus, you're going to bring in so much money that really it's the last I can do."
"But don't you have stuff for the case?"
"It'll be here when we get back. You just hit a huge milestone in your life, Blaine. It deserves, at the very least, a paid lunch from your boss." Bob said.
"If you really want to, I'm not going to say no to free food…" Blaine said slowly.
Bob shook his head and scribbled his initials and a signature on the first of the three sheets.
"What's the A for?" Blaine asked curiously.
"You will ask anything that pops until your head, won't you?" Bob laughed.
"Pretty much, yeah. At least to you… and David's dad. He's answered some really stupid questions over the last nine years." Blaine laughed. "Now they all come to you, though. Sorry."
"Never apologize for asking questions or feel like you can't ask me anything." Bob said very seriously. "My middle name is Alexander."
"Better than Wyatt." Blaine groaned.
"That is true but your first name is better than mine." Bob laughed as Brian walked in. "Hey, are you busy?"
"No. I was coming to see what I could help you with since you literally lost half of your work day dealing with that crap."
Bob looked thoughtful and then said, "Really?"
"Yes. I'm not taking big cases anyway until this one is done so I have nothing to get behind on."
"I mean… you might regret asking."
"What is it? You're losing your time to accept it." Brian joked.
"Great. Can you go to the DA's office and pick up some stuff for me? The Baltimore DA found some more stuff and sent it there for me. I guess the ADA there arrested the guy before or something. They don't know if anything in it will help but it's worth a shot." Bob said, holding out a business card.
"Will they give it to me?"
"Just show them your CMJ badge and ask for Bill. He will get you where you need to be."
"Okay. What else?"
"Can you Overnight Fed Ex something for me? Or UPS. I don't really care. I know I won't make it to the place before the cutoff."
"Okay, what else?"
"Make sure Ryan has all of the Verizon stuff locked up and didn't leave any of it sitting out on his desk before he left…I'm not sure how upset he really was when he left, so he may have left something out that shouldn't be where anyone can see it."
"He calmed down a lot." Brian reassured him. "I think it was more shock than anything, probably."
"Maybe." Bob sighed.
Brian waited patiently.
"I can't think of anything else." Bob said after several seconds. He then added, "At the moment at least."
"If you do, just text me." Brian grabbed a thick envelope from Bob's desk.
"Use the company card." Bob said.
Brian, who was already halfway out of the door, gave a thumbs up and then exited.
Bob sat there for a minute or two and said, "I think I just gave him everything I needed to do… and I can't really do anything until he gets back with those files. I did not think that through."
"You've had a long day." Blaine said.
"Food?" Bob asked, standing.
"Food."
…
Half an hour later they were in a nearly empty restaurant, seated in the back at a corner booth.
"You eat a lot of pizza, you know?"
"The pizza is so much better in New York. I don't know why." Blaine groaned, pulling the first piece off the pan in between them. "Even the delivery is amazing."
"I think it's just because it's different places. Don't worry. You'll like them the same as Pizza Hut and Dominoes soon enough." Bob laughed.
"How is Miles? We've been working on weekends so I haven't been able to come over and steal him from you." Blaine asked, waiting for his slice of pizza to cool down enough to eat.
"He's doing great. He can hold his own head up, he's trying to push his fingers in his mouth, reaching for things, and if you sit him against something he can sit up by himself." Bob said. His whole demeanor changed when he was talking about any of his kids or Sarah. "He's picking up on tone now, though. He can tell the difference and gets fussy whenever anyone sounds angry but if you laugh, he gets this goofy little smile."
"He's so cute. I bet he's grown a lot in the two weeks since I haven't seen him." Blaine said.
"Oh, they all do. The first six or seven years speed by and then you've got an Emily." Bob sighed a bit. "She's not too happy with me right now. She doesn't understand what's going on and why I'm never home before she goes to sleep."
"She'll be okay." Blaine reassured him.
"I know. I feel bad when work affects the kids and their lives, though." Bob admitted.
"It will be over soon."
"Hopefully." Bob nodded. "Okay, so do you know the criminal justice process when it comes to rape?"
"I know that a complaint has to be made. The either the DA decides to prosecute or the victim finds their own lawyer. Then a hearing… The judge can choose to let it go to court, the defendant can plead guilty, or the case can be withdrawn." Blaine said.
"Correct. So, they make their complaint—in this case, she made it in the hospital an hour after it happened. Asshole was arrested because he's a dumb ass for not covering his license plate and not paying attention to security cameras… meaning there is no doubt it was him because you see his face and you hear his voice." Bob nodded.
"So why wouldn't they arrest him?"
"When she got into the car, she had not yet been beaten. He was smart enough to not do that in public. You can hear a struggle in the video but he says they're roleplaying and he didn't rape her. They both decided and wanted to have sex prior to this but now she's embarrassed. She wasn't beaten up before they separated for the night after their rendezvous. What he is saying is a crockpot full of bullshit but, in some people's eyes, he's created reasonable doubt. Enough doubt that it's made it to court."
"Even though they can see and hear all of the stuff on the tape? I mean, I know that's how it is but that sucks."
"A guy could murder twelve people on live TV for the country to see. If it somehow makes it to a trial and if he convinces just one juror that he didn't do it, he walks. Regardless, you must show without a doubt that the defendant did it. Does that help innocent people not go to jail? Yes. Does it help the people that stuff like this happens to—that you know who did it but can't prove it without reasonable doubt? Not so much. It is theoretically correct to let five men go unpunished so that one innocent man doesn't go to jail."
"When is the arraignment again?"
"It was at 8 this morning. There is enough evidence to show a rape could have happened and the guy pled not guilty so we go to court. Simple as that."
"How long before trial?
"I have fifteen days to hand over copies of all of my evidence to the defense lawyer so they can figure out ways to poke holes in it… If new evidence comes up, that must be handed over which could get the guy arrested again and make it even longer… In three weeks from today I have a calendar call with the judge to let him know I'm ready for trial. If we both say we're ready, they schedule it. If one of us isn't we better get there because we have to have trial within 175 days and that can come pretty fast in stuff like this."
"But you said the rules don't matter in a high profile case?"
"I mean… There would have to be a really good reason to push it out that far. Like a death in the judge's, mine, or the other lawyer's family. But normal court doesn't matter at this point, really. The whole back rows will be media because it's high profile—but honestly, there's not much they can legally show on TV or they get slammed with some big fines and probably won't be allowed in another trial. You'll also have random spectators because the defense already turned down a closed court room. That pretty much leaves rooms for witnesses and families. The case is so big that we're going to have to get jurors from another town and sequester them which will add time and cost. The case has gotten too big in Baltimore so there's no way a jury from there wouldn't have heard stuff. If it runs long the court can decide to keep everyone in the court room until it's done—within reason— or could make everyone return the next day… and the next and the next… I don't think Baltimore wants to pay that much money to sequester 12 people and pay all their expenses, though. That's what I mean. 'There are no rules' really means rules get shortened, twisted, and extended."
"And then the trial. You speak, he speaks, witnesses speak, you question, he questions, and the jury decides."
"Yep. It sounds a lot quicker than it is. Trials can go on for hours and hours... I've had some go for days."
"Do you have enough evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt?"
"I'm working on it. I'm trying to get with Mr. Rapist's wife. This isn't the first time the guy has done something like this but charges were dropped last time. If his wife waives marital privilege and knows something, that would probably be a slam dunk… but I don't know if that will happen." Bob sighed.
"Can you do it without her?"
"Yes. Soon at least…There's some paperwork I really need, though, and the person over records won't give it to me or let me back there to make copies. I'm going to get with one of the Taggart's and see if they can help me there… But just because I could do it without the wife doesn't mean the jury has to side with me. This other lawyer was good when he practiced before so I'm sure he's going to be just as good now."
"Probably not as good as you, though."
Bob made a face.
"What is your rank here?"
"I think I'll have to have been here a year before they consider me in anything like that. I technically didn't start cases until August or September. It's only May." Bob shrugged.
"I hope you beat him. You've only lost one case so far in New York and it was your first one back."
"Oh, I will win. I haven't lost one of these cases yet. I just need to find the right person with the right information. There's always someone who knows more than they let on or even more than they think they know." Bob sighed.
"Are… you going to have to show the video and those pictures in court?" Blaine asked.
"Yes."
"But what about the girl…?"
"She won't be in the room at the time. There's no reason for her to need to see or hear that again. She'll come back out when all of that stuff is taken away." Bob reassured him. "The only reason a sexual assault victim would be in there when that evidence is out is if they want to be… most of them don't for obvious reasons."
"Good." Blaine looked relieved.
"I still can't believe you didn't remind me that your birthday was last month. I'm so annoyed with you for that… and at myself for forgetting it." Bob sighed. "I'm going to have to put it in my planner I guess."
"I'm sorry. I don't really go around announcing it." Blaine shrugged. "Plus, I've never really done that much for my birthdays anyway. Since I was eleven at least… it's always super chill."
Bob frowned, knowing what Blaine meant by 'since he was eleven.' Since he came out. Blaine didn't seem bothered, though, so Bob wasn't going to bring it up—he tried not to, honestly, because he didn't want Blaine to ever get that upset again… because that had been gut wrenching. There weren't many things that effected Bob that much, but then again he saw Blane as one of his kids. If he'd had a first son at the age of 21, that is.
"It is seriously okay. If I had known you would be upset, though, I would have had you come over for dinner."
"You literally worked with me that day. We could have gone to lunch or you and Kurt could have come over to the house for dinner and cake… Don't laugh at me."
Blaine shook his head. "It's fine. Kurt made me a cake, potato candy, and lasagna. It was perfect."
"Potato candy?" Bob looked at him like he as crazy.
"It sounds ridiculous but it is amazing. It's like potatoes and peanut butter… and sugar and more baking stuff. He used to only make it at holidays but now I get it on my birthday… and when he's been particularly obnoxious."
"That sounds disgusting. Potatoes, sugar, and peanut butter?"
"You don't understand. You don't understand."
"I guess I'll take your word for it." Bob laughed a bit. "How is Kurt?"
"Working too hard but he loves it so much that I feel bad telling him to quit staying so late. He actually goes in early and stays late most days... actually, all of the days."
"What's it like to love a job?" Bob looked up at the ceiling.
"Is it that bad for you?"
"Not always but I hate high profile cases. I was at CMJ fourteen hours yesterday, slept for six, and came back. I'll probably be here that long today too."
"You didn't get home until 1:00?" Blaine asked.
"No. There's just so much to do and organize and so many things to try to find, look for similar cases and what won them…" Bob finally lowered his head. "This is so high profile that I don't even know if I can pull it off to be honest. It's been on all these news channels and they talk about it on the radio. I literally have heard people talking about it when I've been at the bank or getting lunch. And it's turned into this huge political thing, and this huge LGBT thing, and this huge human rights thing, and this age thing since I'm the 'young' lawyer and he's the 'old' lawyer. But it's not about any of that shit. It's about a rape and that is getting pushed aside because of the media's political agenda. A rapist could walk free because she's 'just a lesbian' or she's 'just a girl.'"
"You have videos."
"Yes and they are horrible and make me want to vomit but if one juror believes it was roleplaying, that guy walks to do it again… and again… and again. If this was a regular case I would have it in the bag. But high profile is a whole other ballgame. Just like with that dead baby. No justice because it got so big that it was hard to contain and control."
"But the jury is supposed to not be… in all of this madness."
"Yeah. You're right. But it doesn't always work that way, Blaine."
"Well I know you can do it… Brian knows you can do it because he's literally quit working to help… Ryan knows you can do it because he's pretty much running this place by himself… Jake knows you can do it because he won't let you go without eating lunch or dinner so you don't make yourself sick… Sarah knows you can do it because she hasn't divorced you yet."
Bob let out a loud laugh. "She threatened to."
"Not seriously."
"No." Bob shook his head. "Not seriously… This time. She did once during a high profile case… but a week later we found out she was pregnant, so it was probably hormones."
"Really?" Blaine looked surprised.
"Women go crazy when they're pregnant. Everything is all messed up and they're super sensitive and needy… but when there is a high profile case, I can't really… sugarcoat things or leave early to 'snuggle.'" Bob pulled a face. "I hate laying or sitting down and doing nothing. What is the point?"
"To spend time together?" Blaine asked.
"I'd rather spend time together not on a bed or couch."
"Well I don't know if I believe that because you have five kids."
Bob looked at him, shocked.
"Was that too much?"
"Now you sound like Jake. He will not pass an opportunity to bring up the fact that I have an entire militia for a family." Bob groaned. "Oh my God. Help me."
"Are you going to have any more kids?"
"Oh my God. You keep asking me. Do you know something I don't?" Bob gave him a look.
"Not that I know of… but if you have 2 more, you all can be the Weasleys."
"The… Weasleys?" Bob echoed.
"You know. Harry Potter."
"You and Charlie would get along really well." Bob laughed.
"I mean, we're friends on Facebook and Instagram?"
"Who has time to take that much pictures of themselves and look at pictures other people have taken of themselves? Can you explain how you kids have that much time?"
"Because we can buy vacuums that vacuum for us, we have dishwashers, clothes washers…"
Bob glared at him, but he wasn't that serious. "I have never lived without a washer and dryer, thank you very much. I'm 45 not 65… Plus, my oldest son is very close to your age. If I'm old, you're getting up there. Trust me. After 25 suddenly you're 40."
"Thanks for the encouragement."
"If you want it to seem longer, hold off on having kids. They make it fly by. Say bye bye to free time. The only free time I have to myself is when I'm sick. We're not talking colds. We're talking the flu, puking, or strep."
Blaine cringed and then asked, "Can I help you with anything at work? I know I'm just barely training but I can stay late with you or come in early. If either Kurt or I can let the dogs out, I can stay. Kurt's working so much extra anyway. I'd much rather spend time here with you doing something that may make a difference than watching Netflix in boxers and a t-shirt with two dogs laying on me."
Bob laughed again and shook his head. "You can't."
"Yes. I can." Blaine looked him in the eyes. "Do you know how much you've helped me in the last four years?"
"Right back at you, Blaine. You're still helping me with all of my crap."
"Not enough apparently." Blaine frowned.
"I mean, you can come however early and leave however late you want but, honestly, it won't make that much of a dent. The real help would be sending you out like Brian."
"I can do that." Blaine said quickly.
"Oh, he's been doing more than picking up and shipping things—but the DA's office wouldn't give you anything. Honestly, I wouldn't trust sending you out for something like that in case someone tried to jump you. You don't think it will happen but when cases blow up, anything is possible."
"What else has he been doing?"
"He's interviewed at least five people the defendant knows to see if they are aware of anything that has happened since the crime was convicted that would be helpful… or anything in the past. Looked into the guy's finances to see if any money has mysteriously been paid to a 'massage parlor' or something that could really be paying somebody off. The biggest thing is trying to get this records lady at the police station in Maryland to release his previous records. We had a hint that Mr. Rapist's good friend from high school works in the police station and that the complete file may not have been sent over. Jake even tried to get it and he is super good at getting anything." Bob sighed. "Anyway, that trip pretty much took an entire work day."
Blaine nodded. "So… usually prosecutors are more likely to try to withhold evidence but in this case the defense is?"
"Supposedly." Bob shrugged. "Which means the asshole is guilty and someone in that station knows it."
"What if you can't get it?"
"Oh, I think I can get it. Apparently the youngest Taggart boy knows the lady's son. He's making a trip over there when he can get away. I guess he just had a baby? His dad didn't look like he wanted to talk about that though, so…" Bob said.
"Can you get in trouble for that?" Blaine asked.
"Not if she gives it to him. If we snuck in and took it, yes. As long as someone out of that office hands it over of their own free will or lets him go back to get it, no crime was committed. If they can play in muddy water so can I."
"Do you really think he'll get it?"
"You haven't met this kid. He's super friendly and talks to everyone like he's their best friend. People love him." Bob said.
"If these people from other firms are helping, why didn't they take the case?" Blaine asked.
"Neither of the two older brothers have time, the youngest just had a baby—not that a 27 year old needs to take something like this on anyway. Also, the dad doesn't do a whole lot of cases anymore. He's pretty old and I've heard he's retiring in five years. Not everyone is Brian and will take anything that comes his way."
"Why didn't Brian?"
"I'm pretty sure his fiancé told him not to. Honestly, though, this might be too much for me to handle. Brian's great but I don't think he's… prepared for this level quite yet."
Bob groaned when his work phone rang. "It's Tammy. I've got to take this."
"Should I go?"
Bob shook his head and answered, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but there.
"No, I did not overreact because of Ryan and yes, I already fired them. Guess you should have picked up your phone which is something you insist I always do."
Long Time Coming
"I need you to listen." Kurt heard Adrian saying from his kitchen. "If you keep putting that much stuff in the washer, it is going to break and you know who will be paying for my dry cleaning until you buy a new one? You."
"That is so rude. I haven't broken a washer yet, have I?"
"You obviously don't have enough experience with them to have broken one yet, Matt."
Kurt looked at Blaine, who was clearly trying to not smile or laugh—Kurt wasn't sure which one. Maybe both?
"Just because my mom would do my laundry and clean some of my house every once in a while does not mean I don't know how to take care of myself."
"That actually is what it means because it was more than every once in a while."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you shrunk my jeans."
"Well I was hoping they'd… stretch back out?"
"Oh my God."
"I can't handle these two." AJ said as she bounced Scarlett on her leg.
Kurt, who was sitting on the couch next to AJ, leaned over and tickled Scarlett's chubby leg.
"Have they ever had a fight?" Blaine asked—trying to not get butterflies in his stomach, just like he did every time Kurt was interacting with a baby or small child. He had been excited to have babies with Kurt before he got engaged, but now it had quadrupled. The possibility of having kids was so much closer. And Blaine knew Kurt was going to be an amazing father.
"Yeah, I'm not sure." Wes looked thoughtful. "I hope so. If they got married before they'd had a proper fight, that could be bad news bears."
"What could be bad news bears?" Matt came into the living room, making a beeline for Scarlett.
"Have you two ever fought?" AJ asked when Adrian came in.
"No. We just bicker."
AJ looked at him, facial expression neutral.
"What?" Matt looked confused.
"Did I… say something wrong?" Adrian also looked confused.
"You two have seriously never had an argument? You've never gotten so pissed at each other that you've had to leave the room? Or that you've yelled at each other?" Blaine tilted his head.
"No. Why would we?" Matt asked.
"Oh my God." AJ said, looking at Wes. "They've never fought."
"Isn't that good? I mean, I don't like to argue." Matt asked. "I got enough of that when I was a police officer. Teenagers and young adults are so annoying."
"Matt… you turned 24 three days ago." Adrian said as Wes let out a loud laugh.
"No." AJ said slowly. "Sweetie, that is not good."
"We have a healthy relationship. Not everyone argues." Adrian scoffed.
"You and I both know that you are an actual shit when you're mad, Adrian. You are rude, petty, and honestly, just horrible to be around."
"He is?" Matt looked surprised.
"I am not." Adrian protested.
"Oh, he gets petty. Make him mad enough and he'll bring up the most ridiculous stuff that annoys him." AJ nodded very seriously. "We're talking dog earring in your textbook ridiculous."
"I can't help it if I cringe every time you bite your nails in front of me, okay? It's disgusting." Adrian said impatiently. "And you should never do that to a book."
"I agree." Blaine said.
"How have you two been in a relationship for, what, more than three years and have not had an argument?" Wes asked.
Kurt nodded in agreement.
"We don't… disagree?" Matt tilted his head.
"Oh yes we do. I just don't bring it up." Adrian said.
"When did you disagree with me?" Matt looked at Adrian like he was crazy.
"You said you want to wait another year before applying to school. You wanted to trade your perfectly good car in for another newer one. You decided to suddenly say you 'don't like apartments' and that you want to buy a house instead." Adrian said. "Come on. It hasn't even been a year."
"You couldn't have… said something? In a nice way?" Matt asked.
"No. No, I couldn't because you've been super defensive ever since you got that kidney infection and I made you go to the ER last month."
"It wasn't even an infection! It was nowhere near my kidneys. It was allergies! Sinus infection. Not kidney infection!" Matt looked at Adrian like he was crazy. "Just because I sneeze and cough doesn't mean my one kidney is going to explode. If that was the case, we'd all have been dead a long time ago… me especially because I have allergies."
"This is what I mean." AJ cut in. "You two are obviously keeping stuff in instead of talking it out… and when you keep stuff in, it's going to all eventually come out at once."
"It's true." Blaine said. "Any time Kurt and I hold stuff in, it comes out like a month later and gets blown way out of proportion because we just got more annoyed over time. Then you explode."
"Plus, you are missing out on the best part of arguing—make up sex. Or angry sex. Or angry sex and then make up sex." Kurt added. "Basically it's an excuse for better than usual sex."
"Don't we have a healthier relationship because we don't let stupid things turn into an argument?" Matt asked.
"I know you're younger but, sweetie, you aren't that much younger." AJ looked at him. "How many relationships did you have before Adrian?"
"Define relationship."
Adrian's jaw dropped. "What does that mean, Matt?"
"I mean… I don't know. The only recurring person I had 'dates and sex' with was the guy I lost my virginity to… he is a firefighter now so we had to be around each other more at work and, you know, he's attractive. I'm attractive. We really only had sex between relationships but he was usually the one who'd been in an actual relationship. I pretty much just let people come to me and if they were safe and I was safe… party on?"
"You told me you'd never dated a firefighter." Adrian look at him.
"I said I'd never seriously dated a fire fighter. I was very sure to add that 'seriously.' We went on dates with the intention of having sex after… I mean, it was never a relationship after the whole virginity thing. We just knew both of us used protection so it was a low risk way to, you know, get the job done when we weren't seeing anyone at the time." Matt shrugged.
"So… Adrian was your first real relationship?" AJ asked.
"No. He's just the longest one. Unless you count all the times Jared spent together over the span of, you know, seven years… but after the whole losing our virginity in front of my dad thing, you know… couldn't really go back from that. It was never going to go anywhere because my dad is scary."
"Well you sure went back somewhere." Adrian scoffed. "How many people have you dated?"
"I don't know? Seven? Three probably shouldn't actually count though…" Matt looked thoughtful.
"You were barely able to drink when you met Adrian!" AJ said. "How did you have seven other relationships?"
"Obviously they didn't last very long… It was probably my mom. She would get really weird anytime I dated someone with light colored hair."
"What?" Adrian stared at Matt blankly.
"This is progress." Wes said cheerfully.
"You were sleeping with someone the first month we were dating so I don't even want to hear it." Matt said. "Yet you wouldn't sleep with me."
"Oh my God. We weren't official!" Adrian exclaimed. "And you were the one who said we should wait."
"Because you were sleeping with somebody else." Matt threw his hands in the air. "Apparently we dated two years before we were official since you go by Facebook! At least I admitted my feelings 22 months earlier than you."
"Woah, okay." AJ handed Scarlett off to Blaine.
"Like you probably weren't having sex with Jared."
"Actually, I don't date someone while sleeping with someone else. Maybe I'm just funny that way?" Matt gave a very overexaggerated shrug.
"What did you do, Alicia?" Wes asked, staring at her.
"Come on. This is healthy for them." AJ shrugged. "I didn't know a firefighter was going to come into the mix which is apparently a soft spot for Adrian… but, I mean, they get muscles from the hoses and climbing ladders so…"
"Right? Police and EMS do not have those muscles." Matt said. "It's not even fair. They aren't the ones that get shot at or have to deal with bombs until the bomb squad gets there. They get a big loud truck with a huge ladder or hose and they're the favorites... although two of the EMT's did have muscles."
"You aren't helping, AJ!" Adrian exclaimed.
"Look, I can't help that you are obviously lamenting the fact that you don't have your twenty-year-old model body. Matt likes you the way you are, so let it go. You're still ten times hotter than any guy I've ever met even without the abs."
"He better because I still had the abs when we started dating."
"They're still there, just not as pronounced…. Plus, it's insurance you won't leave me for a healthy police officer. I obviously knew I was going to lose a kidney and be unable to work so I planned to get the last cookie before you could knowing you'd fall for me and I could keep bringing you cookies to fatten you up. You obviously would never leave me if you'd gained ten pounds." Matt's expression was serious.
"Matt!" Adrian exclaimed. "You are not funny."
"I'm always funny. Just ask anyone in Cambridge."
"Oh my God. AJ, really? Why did you start this?"
"You know what? I'm going to go and fill out my application for Columbia. Have fun being crazy out here." Matt grabbed his laptop off a side table and then went into another room, muttering, "Thanks, AJ."
"Application to Columbia? You already got into NYU with a full MLK scholarship." Adrian looked surprised. "You said you wanted to go there."
"I do want to go there but I'm still going to apply to Columbia if I can pull the dick of a sexy fireman out of my ass long enough to log onto the site." Matt called from the other room.
"But why?"
"Because if I can get accepted into NYU and Columbia, my brothers cannot say I'm the dumb hot one. I'll just be the hot one."
As if on cue, Scarlett let out an adorable giggle.
"I've seen his brothers. He totally is the hot one." AJ quipped.
"The oldest one is pretty hot too." Adrian said distractedly.
"What did you just say, Adrian?" Matt poked his head into the room.
"I said your oldest brother is pretty hot too." Adrian shot AJ an annoyed look when Matt scoffed and left the room again. "Why did you do this?"
"Who gets married to someone before ever having a fight? Come on. You two are crazy." AJ shrugged.
Adrian sighed, sitting on the floor in front of Wes and tickling Scarlett's chubby belly. "I don't know. Honestly, I was always busy with school and he worked 60 hours a week. I don't think we were around each other long enough to argue because we were usually otherwise preoccupied… then he lost his kidney and it just seemed stupid to argue over anything when he could have died. We bicker but none of it is worth getting that worked up that we argue… Not to mention I'll be arguing as a career soon."
"It' healthy. Wes and AJ fight all the time and look at them! About to get married, they have an adorable baby, and a perfect life." Blaine said.
"Is Matt the only one that bottoms?" AJ asked, looking thoughtful.
"I am not answering that question." Adrian looked horrified.
"No!" Matt called from the other room. "It's actually half and half usually but if he's tipsy or drunk, he practically begs to—"
"Matthew!" Adrian exclaimed.
"You all can talk about me having sex but I can't? How would that hold up in court?"
Wes completely ignored Adrian and Matt before looking at Blaine. "Oh, we do not have a perfect life. Our stamina has not outlasted the birth of a baby. One of ours at least."
"My stamina is fine, thank you very much. I'm not the one who is too tired. How the tables have turned." AJ rolled her eyes.
"Sorry if I don't feel in the mood after handling infectious diseases and poisons. Maybe you should be more reasonable about when you're in the mood."
"Yes because it's always for the man to decide. I see." AJ gave Wes a look.
"If the man can't get it up, the woman can't get it in. You know what I'm saying?" Wes asked.
Kurt covered his face. Because really?
"Thanks for this somewhat awkward experience but Kurt and I are going to go home and practice making babies." Blaine hopped up.
"You do know that's—" Wes trailed off and then said, "Of course you do."
Kurt stood and gave Adrian an apologetic look.
"Don't worry. It's fine." Adrian sighed dramatically. "Just leave me with the crazy people… mainly Matt."
Blaine half dragged Kurt out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.
"Hi." Kurt gave him a big smile.
"Hello." Blaine leaned forward to kiss him. "Dinner?"
"If you're paying." Kurt joked.
"After your promotion, you make more than me." Blaine pointed out.
"Just until you get cases and then you'll make quite a bit more than me." Kurt led Blaine from the apartment building. "I can't believe Matt wants to move out of there. It's so nice and they have so much space."
"Cambridge is super rural compared to New York City… plus, I went to Matt's house once with Adrian to pick something up. It was huge. The apartment was probably half of his downstairs alone."
"Did he really make that much money?" Kurt looked surprised.
"Yeah, I think so. He bought his first house out right and had enough to put down half on this apartment." Blaine shrugged. "What do you want for dinner?"
"No pizza." Kurt said. "I know there are so many pizza options but I'm not eating pizza for a month at least."
Blaine stuck out his lower lip. "Well then what do you want?"
"Can we take something home, eat, and pick out a wedding day?" Kurt asked, eyes bright.
"I thought you didn't want to start anything wedding until fall?" Blaine looked confused.
"Well I thought I didn't but now I think I do. I'm so excited to marry you, Blaine."
Blaine positively beamed. "Okay. We'll get take out. Whatever you want… just please no sea food."
…
"No summer wedding." Blaine said two hours later.
"What? Why?" Kurt looked surprised.
He and Blaine were lying in bed after dinner and some… recreational activities.
"Because of my hair." Blaine looked at Kurt like he was crazy.
"Oh, you don't want to have your hair curly for the wedding?" Kurt teased, smirking.
"No. And I don't appreciate your sass." Blaine pouted.
"Well I don't want a winter wedding because my skin is always horrible in winter."
"Kurt, your skin is always perfect. Everything about your body is always perfect." Blaine looked at Kurt like he was crazy again.
"That is not true." Kurt protested.
"Yes. It is." Blaine argued. "Your hair is flawless even when it's going everywhere, your skin is always spotless and smooth, you've got muscles in the right places and you've got just a little extra in all of the right places."
"Hmmm no."
"Yes." Blaine nodded. "You and your body are perfect."
"Even my horrendous scar?"
"It's not horrendous. It shows how much you've overcome." Blaine blinked at him. "I love every inch of your body. There is nothing I would change—including your scar."
"It's mostly just a reminder that I almost died and the guys that did this didn't do any time for what they did to me. They barely got any time for the person that died." Kurt's expression was very serious.
"What? Since when…?"
Blaine was confused. It was nowhere near October when the anniversary was… and Kurt had never brought this up about his scar up before. Not like this at least. Occasionally he'd make a joke about his scar but that was it.
"I don't know. The case with the girl that Bob took… everything is on the news and people are talking about it and it's hard to not think about it I guess." Kurt admitted. "Usually I barely even notice the scar because I'm so used to it but lately every time I see it, I get upset. Not enough to see my therapist again upset… just upset."
"Kurt." Blaine looked at him sadly.
"I don't know how people get away with stuff like this." Kurt took a deep breath. "I know it's not the same but…"
"I know." Blaine nodded. "It's close enough."
"What if he loses?"
"Bob has never lost a sexual assault case." Blaine spoke slowly, carefully planning his words. "Bob is one of the best lawyers in the country. He isn't going to lose this."
"But everything around it has gotten crazy."
"At the end of the day, there is a prosecutor and a defender. Bob argues that there is no way this guy didn't do it, Bob wins, and the guy goes to jail for a very long time."
"Bob is human… and it's insane to think he'll just walk out there and win it blindly when it has gotten so big."
"Okay, he's not going out there blind, Kurt. There are lawyers from other offices assisting, our three best lawyers between the two CMJ locations have quit taking cases to help. People that know people are helping. This is much bigger than Bob. This is a huge thing and people from three surrounding states are getting involved. You've got lawyers really good at getting information, really good at relaying information, really good at getting stuff out of witnesses, really good lawyers who have done cases that have been this political. It is literally a team of people helping and I know for a fact the other lawyer isn't doing shit because he thinks he has it in the bag." Blaine took a deep breath. "And this guy doesn't care but Bob cares. Enough that he's working sixteen hour days and barely seeing his family. This is not going to be the first sexual assault case he loses. He's been practicing law for more than twenty years."
Kurt nodded but didn't look convinced.
"I wish you'd told me you were feeling this way." Blaine sighed.
"I mean, honestly, I didn't want to bring it up. We've both got enough going on. I just… I was watching this news clip and they were saying how much more experienced the other guy is and how good he used to be."
"I know Bob and I know he will get this." Blaine said confidently.
"What does Bob think?"
"Bob is tired and stressed, but he knows his stuff. If he doesn't know it, he knows who does know it to get what he needs. That other guy hasn't practiced in fifteen years. He's just a bigoted guy who doesn't even know how the real world works anymore—including law."
Kurt nodded but didn't look convinced.
"I have no doubt Bob will win this." Blaine looked him in the eyes.
"Really?"
"None. That's why the office is half shut down. There are a lot of people on this right now." Blaine nodded. "A lot of really good, really big lawyers."
"What if he doesn't, though?"
"If he doesn't… I don't think Bob would take it very well." Blaine admitted. "But I don't think we need to think about that because he's going to win."
Kurt nodded, looking a little more convinced but not a whole lot.
"So… spring or fall wedding?" Blaine tilted his head, smiling a bit.
"You." Kurt smiled back.
"Me what? You promised we would pick a wedding day."
"We need to pick a wedding year." Kurt laughed. "We could do fall of 2020 or spring of 2021?"
"It's 2018." Blaine looked at him, surprised. "You want to potentially wait until 2021?"
"We would be 28 if we got married in 2021. At least, you would."
"If we don't get married until I'm 28, how old are we going to be when we have kids?"
"Wasn't the plan to settle down in our jobs and with each other before having kids?"
"Didn't you propose early because of everything that happened with Burt and you didn't want to wait any longer?" Blaine tilted his head.
Kurt opened his mouth and closed it a few times. "Spring of 2020? That's a little less than two years."
"Well…" Blaine hesitated.
Kurt let out a loud laugh.
"What?"
"You're just as bad as I am. "
"What about fall of 2020? That's a little more than two years." Blaine asked.
"Okay. What month?" Kurt tilted his head a bit.
"October?"
"How about September? The weather will be more reliable."
"Okay but you pick the date."
Blaine pulled out his phone, scrolling through the calendar until he reached September of 2020. "4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th… We could save money if we didn't do a Saturday, though."
Kurt looked at Blaine, blinking several times.
"What?!"
"Aren't we using the money you got from the inheritance for the wedding? Are you really that worried about an extra $1,000? Do you really think it will be that much more expensive?" Kurt asked.
"Well, probably not, but… I don't know. You have expensive taste, Kurt."
"And you don't? Your pants are probably more expensive than mine." Kurt scoffed.
"Only because I have to have them altered."
Kurt covered his mouth, clearly holding back a smile.
"It's not funny. I literally grew an inch and a half and I'm still shorter than you."
"I'm sorry. You are a lot closer, though. An inch and a half closer." Kurt lowered his hand, smiling adorably.
"It's not fair."
"I would be sad if you weren't shorter than me." Kurt admitted. "I love how you fit against me at night."
Blaine smiled a bit. "Where do you want to get married?"
"Here. Not in Ohio." Kurt's answer was instant.
"Thank God. I mean, I would have but… it's just not us anymore. Not that it ever was, but now it's even less… if that makes sense."
"Exactly. All of our friends are here, Alex is really close to here, and I know that my family will come here for the wedding. They already did it for Finn's... And Paige and Taylor's" Kurt shrugged. "I still can't believe they're married."
"It's sweet."
"Yeah... I just hope they don't break up again." Kurt laughed a bit.
"There's a reason they keep going back." Blaine pointed out.
"Yeah. I know." Kurt nodded. "You're supposed to be picking a Saturday, Blaine."
Blaine huffed a bit. "That's a lot of pressure. Hey! Wait! Can we get married at Disney? I've never been."
"WHAT?!" Kurt looked at him like he was crazy.
"Well we were going to go… but then Wes' mom went and got pregnant."
"Wes' parents were going to take Wes, David, and you to Disney World? At what age?"
"Sixteen. For spring break." Blaine shrugged.
"Well… we will go to Disney but we are not getting married there…"
"They have packages."
"How do you know this?"
"Because Matt tried to talk Adrian into it when we still lived together." Blaine laughed.
"No. We are not getting married at Disney World… Or Disneyland."
"Can we go there on our honeymoon?"
"How old are you?" Kurt laughed.
"Hey, I'm serious. We can go to Orlando and go to Disney and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The perfect vacation to follow the perfect day." Blaine blinked at him adorably.
"If that is our honeymoon, I demand an actual non theme park trip within a year of getting married… and I get to pick where we do the wedding and how everything looks." Kurt said. Because there was no way that Blaine would give him free reign.
"Yay! I get to meet Peter Pan!" Blaine cheered.
"Did you just agree?" Kurt's eyes widened.
"Yep. Have fun planning a wedding by yourself." Blaine crawled out of bed and pulled his boxers back on. "I get to go to Hogwarts!"
"Blaine." Kurt stared at him. "Really?"
"I mean do I really want to argue over napkin colors with you? We all know you'll win. Just let me be in charge of my people's clothes and you be in charge of yours."
"Wait. What?"
"I get to pick my tux and what my people will wear. I mean, that's pretty much non-negotiable. You can do whatever else you want." Blaine shrugged. "I'm going to grab my laptop. I wonder what else we can do in Orlando?"
"But—"
"Deal is a deal." Blaine pulled the door closed behind him before Kurt could say anything else.
Kurt pulled his phone off his nightstand and texted, you are an asshole.
He heard Blaine laugh loudly from the other room.
You'll be so gorgeous nobody will be paying attention to me or anyone else anyway.
Thank you but you are still an asshole.
No khaki.
What do you take me for?
Well I didn't exactly know I proposed to someone who would want to honeymoon in two of the most expensive theme parks in the world FOR CHILDREN so at this point I'm not sure?
No Mickey shaped ice cream bars for you. They're all mine.
This time Kurt let out the loud laugh and called, "You showed me."
"September 4th." Blaine called back.
"I was hoping you'd say that." Kurt said as Blaine walked into the room with his laptop.
"I know you were." Blaine sat next to him, smiling bright. "Can we stay onsite?"
"Only because you've never been before."
"Good because by the time we go back we'll have kids and you'll want the ease of being onsite." Blaine grinned.
"You are a big kid."
"Actually, I'm a tiny kid." Blaine opened his laptop.
"What are you doing?" Kurt scooted close and leaned over Blaine's shoulder.
"Looking for expensive places to get married in this city so I can blow some of the family's money."
"Ten minutes ago you suggested a day other than Saturday to save money."
"Yeah but five minutes ago I realized the biggest fuck you to my father would be to use that on our super gay wedding." Blaine pointed out. "Just don't use too much of it."
"Not that I would, but why?"
"I'm going to put the rest into an interest accruing account for our kids. Once we reach the amount of kids we want, I'll move it into individual accounts and split it up evenly."
Kurt looked at him, smiling.
"What?" Blaine whined. "They won't feel weird about using it if we give it to them. I know it's from my grandpa but there's been so much drama around it… Plus, I'm pretty sure Alex doesn't really use his either unless he has to."
"I think it's sweet you're already doing stuff for kids we don't even have yet."
"I don't want to wait until I'm thirty to have kids. At least, not our first one."
"When we do you want to have kids?" Kurt asked, watching him carefully.
"How about within a year of us getting married? I mean, it'll probably take forever to find a surrogate anyway."
"You want to do a surrogate and not adopt?" Kurt looked surprised.
"If we're going to have little versions of ourselves… I want them to at least be ours." Blaine bit his lip. "If it doesn't work out, I have no problem adopting… but I would like to try for our own kids if that's okay."
"Yes." Kurt nodded, looking him in the eyes and smiling. "I hope we get twins."
"Oh my God, no. Two crying babies at once? Are you crazy?"
"Well they do run in your family, so…"
"Do you know what else runs in my family?" Blaine smiled sweetly.
"What?"
"Boys. Elena is the first girl in, like, four generations."
"Seriously?" Kurt tilted his head. "Never mind then. You can't make any of our babies."
Blaine laughed. "Would it be so bad?"
"They're so… dirty." Kurt cringed.
"Have you met Melody?"
"That is a good point… but I would have no idea how to raise a boy. I'm not exactly masculine… and I am not going to throw a ball in a dirty back yard."
Blaine laughed loudly and then leaned to kiss his cheek. "I'll do that and you watch."
"That probably won't happen though, right?"
"Well… multiples run in my family… and with IVF multiples are more likely to happen… so the odds are definitely against us. But at least we will never be like Bob and have four sons."
"Oh my God. I'd die. Maybe I should just donate the sperm and we can dye one's hair dark."
Blaine playfully punched him. "If I make twins, they will be awesome and adorable like me."
Kurt scooted closer after sitting his laptop on the coffee table.
"What?" Blaine smiled and ruffled his hair.
"I hate when you do that." Kurt sighed, closing his eyes.
"I think you are the most adorable with hair not styled."
"I'm too old to be adorable, Blaine."
"No. You'll still be adorable when you're sixty."
"Oh my God." Kurt covered his face. "Don't talk about that."
"I probably won't get to see it because you'll have murdered me by then." Blaine joked, pulling Kurt closer so he was leaning back against Blaine's chest.
"You may not make it to thirty." Kurt laughed. "Now will you look at venues with me? I know you said I can choose but I want to pick somewhere you'll love too."
"Can we have the ceremony outside?" Blaine asked, one arm dangling over Kurt's chest and his other hand running through Kurt's hair.
"As long as the place we pick has an inside for a back up plan, I am completely okay with that." Kurt nodded. "How many people do you want to invite?"
"The people we're closest to now and some old friends from high school that we don't see often anymore?" Blaine suggested. "Definitely David and Wes' families…"
"And Bob's." Kurt tilted his head back a bit and smiled.
"Yeah! Charlie already told me they better all be invited." Blaine laughed.
"I think Puck has to have a seat right up front since he's the president of our fan club." Kurt giggled a bit. "Shit, Blaine. How are you going to pick a best man? Wait, has Wes picked a best man? Was it not you since you haven't said anything?"
"I think instead of having a bunch of people stand up there, he's just having two best men." Blaine said. "Apparently AJ told him he had to pick one of us and he freaked out for, like, two days… then he decided it would just be both of us."
"Yeah. I have a hard time picturing any of you all picking one over the other." Kurt nodded.
"I don't think we could honestly… we're more like brothers than friends, really. We always have been." Blaine looked thoughtful.
"Are you going to have Adrian up there?"
"I honestly hadn't thought that far ahead… I guess it will depend on how many people you pick?"
"Finn is a must obviously since I was in his."
"Technically you were with Rachel."
"He actually asked me first but when he found out Rachel wanted me up there with her, he said I should stand with her."
"Finn is sweet."
"He can be." Kurt laughed. "Well I at least need Alec, Finn, Rachel, and Mercedes. What about Alex?"
"Probably not." Blaine admitted. "I don't know. We're getting closer but we're not there yet… plus, we're both busy at opposite times so it's hard to keep in touch as much as both of us would like."
"You've got two years. That could change." Kurt reassured him.
"Yeah." Blaine nodded. "But the only person I really need up there is you."
Kurt smiled and sat up straight to kiss him. "I can't wait to marry you, Blaine."
Blaine pulled back suddenly. "What about our last names?"
"What about them?" Kurt asked.
"I mean, do you…. Or should I…?"
"By the time we get married, you'll be settled into your career. You shouldn't change your last name to Hummel." Kurt said instantly.
"Same for you, though."
"I guess we'll have to hyphenate." Kurt looked thoughtful. "Anderson-Hummel or Hummel-Anderson?"
"They both sound… weird… but in a good way?" Blaine said it as though it were a question. "It just hit me that our last names are going to be the same."
Kurt grinned at him. "Isn't that crazy?"
"Yes. I feel like we were babies when we met." Blaine smiled as Kurt leaned into him again. "Now we've got big kid jobs, an apartment, and dogs."
"And each other."
"You're my favorite, Kurt."
"I know. That's why we're getting married." Kurt sat up again and kissed him quickly. "Think we can stay on task now?"
"Yeah, probably not."
"Why?"
"Because all I want to do is kiss you right now."
Kurt turned himself around so he was sitting next to Blaine. "Well, what's stopping you?"
Long Time Coming
"So, we're literally sitting in bed and eating pretzels and Eric tells me he wants a baby."
"Stop. Blaine and I were talking about babies recently too." Kurt, who was sitting in Alec's kitchen, looked amused. "But is this the same Eric that has told you he doesn't want kids for ten years?"
"Yeah. In the same conversation he said he never wanted to get married." Alec snorted.
"What did you say?"
"I just kind of looked at him and then asked if he was okay."
Kurt laughed.
"No. Seriously. I don't know if he had been drinking before or what." Alec shrugged. "First he doesn't want to get married and he proposes. He doesn't want to live more than a ten minute walk from the hospital and he buys a house thirty minutes away from it. Then he says we don't have time for a dog when I very nicely asked if we could get one since we have a pitiful back yard. But apparently we have enough time for a squalling miniature human."
"Don't you want kids, though?"
"Yes. I always have. I just don't understand why suddenly he does."
"Maybe you made him see the light?" Kurt tilted his head and took a sip of his coffee—because yes. It was the middle of the day on the weekend and he wanted coffee. Sue him.
"Pfft. I don't know about all of that. I think it's because one of the nurses in the ER is pregnant or something."
Kurt nearly spit out his coffee. "Who?!"
"I don't know. Some blonde girl?"
"Is her name Marcy?!"
"God, I hope not. She's the only APRN they have right now and they keep losing nurses left and right." Alec groaned. "Another good point. He's always at work because he's having to do extra stuff. How can we have a baby?"
"No. I need to know if it's Marcy." Kurt said excitedly.
"Are they even dating still?"
"They better be. They're so cute together." Kurt pulled out his phone.
"Don't text him! It probably isn't her!" Alec exclaimed.
Is Marcy preggers?
Alec looked down at it. "Preggers? Really, Kurt?"
Kurt watched the dots on his iphone before David's text popped up.
What the fuck?
I heard there's a pregnant ER nurse.
Oh my God.
Who?
That's why I'm texting you!
"Look. It's probably not even Marcy and he's freaking out. Tell him Eric will take it if they don't want it." Alec looked at Kurt, amused. "You are too happy."
"No. David and Marcy are so cute together. You don't understand." Kurt protested. "I can't handle this. I need to know."
"You need to know? David is probably frantically trying to contact her to make sure he's not going to be a daddy." Alec snorted. "He would be a cute dad, though."
"I know. He's so cute. Wes is goofy. And Blaine is somehow a mix of the two of them really… only not so much." Kurt looked confused. "I don't know where I was going with that."
"Wes is cute too."
"Blaine had a crush on him for a while apparently." Kurt laughed.
Are you alive, David?
"He's not answering me. He read the message. David's having a baby!"
"You better not tell anyone that. There are a ton of nurses in that hospital."
"But not a lot in the ER." Kurt protested. "Technically Marcy is a APRN though…"
"Isn't the only difference that she can order tests and do prescriptions?" Alec asked.
"I don't know. I'm not the one with a husband who is a doctor." Kurt shrugged.
David?
Kurt, shut up.
"Oh shit." Kurt showed Alec his texts.
"Do you think… no…" Alec tilted his head. "You know… I could have just texted Eric and asked him. What if it's not hers but he has a heart attack and dies?"
"I could see him passing out but he's too healthy for a heart attack." Kurt sighed a bit. "Blaine's already been getting googly eyes any time I hold Scarlett or Miles. If David has a baby, I may just have to steal one and bring it home."
"That is one way to ensure you will never be able to adopt." Alec pointed at him. "If you need an out."
"I want babies! Just not yet. I want to buy a house first." Kurt admitted.
"When did this come up?"
"Well we try to wedding plan but it usually turns into after wedding planning." Kurt laughed.
"At least you have a date."
"Yeah. And we plan to have the first baby about a year after the wedding and the second born around the time the first baby turns two."
"You have it planned that much?" Alec looked impressed.
"Yeah. We don't want to be too old." Kurt nodded.
"Have you gotten anything planned for the actual wedding?"
"Well Blaine has planned for a honeymoon between Disney World and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter."
"How did he get away with that?"
"I get to pick everything except his and his party's clothes. I kind of think he tricked me into it actually…." Kurt looked thoughtful.
"Yeah. Eric tried to pull something like that… and, as you know, we got married on an overlook on a hiking trail." Alec laughed. "And a four day honeymoon."
"Honestly on that short term of notice, he was probably lucky to get that."
"Yeah. When he gets his new PTO in the fall we're supposed to go and stay with my parents… if they're in the country." Alec shrugged. "I hope they are. I haven't gotten to see them much since… well, since I left for CCAD."
"I don't think I could go more than five months without seeing my dad." Kurt admitted.
"Your stepmom was so nice."
"She's sweet." Kurt nodded.
"And your stepbrother is tall."
"Seeing him and Blaine standing together and having a conversation is the most adorable thing ever." Kurt laughed.
"I bet. Blaine is so cute."
"He is." Kurt pouted a bit. "He's been working like crazy, though. With that big case."
"I think that whole office should take a week off when it's done. I don't want to think about all of the crap they're probably doing." Alec laughed.
"Right? At the very least, Bob should."
"Pfft. He should get two."
"That is true." Kurt nodded.
"Did David text you back yet?"
Kurt checked and shook his head. "No."
"He's probably on his way to the ER to look for her." Alec laughed again.
"You should text Eric."
"Okay." Alec did so and was surprised to get a very speedy answer. "He won't tell me. It must be her."
David!
What in the actual fuci are yu pscho?
You're making typos.
IT IS HER!
I really dislike you right now.
"Are you going to text Blaine?"
"No.
"Oh, come on. I bet he'd be able to get an answer." Alec looked disappointed. "I don't really know either of them but I'm emotionally invested now."
Kurt laughed and pocketed his phone. "I better get home so I can have dinner for Blaine. He'll eat and pass out until seven in the morning."
"Let me know if it's Marcy!" Alec called as Kurt left.
Kurt typed out another quick text— Are you going to tell me?
No.
No you're not going to tell me or no she isn't pregnant?
No.
Long Time Coming
"If I don't have the records by 3:00 it doesn't matter what's in them. It can't be entered without delaying the trial."
"Well we've literally sent five people to try. They said Kyle went there last night to get it. Do you want me to call his dad? I don't have Kyle's number." Jake asked from one of the seats in front of Bob's desk.
"No. I don't want you to call his dad. Fuck me."
"No."
"Why do you always say that?! It's a rhetorical statement!"
"Because it upsets you."
Blaine, who was looking over some of the new paperwork that had been filed for the case, shook his head.
Jake was quiet with literally everyone except Bob… which made sense. But when Bob and Jake talked, it was either hilarious or they sounded like two brothers bickering.
"Thank God." Bob suddenly stood.
"Sorry. I meant to be here hours ago but I have this for you." A young guy, who was in jeans and a t-shirt, said. "There was a wreck on the interstate."
"How's the baby?" Jake asked.
"Forget about that. How did you get these?" Bob interrupted. He then added, "Not that your baby isn't important."
"Uhm, Jake, you probably actually don't want to know."
"Oh God." Bob said, his smile falling. "You got this legally, didn't you?"
"Oh yeah. She made copies and handed me the original." Kyle said.
"What?!" Jake said. "How did you manage that?"
"You probably don't want to know." The guy repeated.
Jake gave him a look. "Are you sure you got it legally?"
"I did this 100% legally… I just had some help getting in." Kyle said slowly.
"Oh God. She's an old lady, Kyle." Jake looked horrified.
"Gross. I used to date her son in undergrad at NYU and when I was at Cornell for law school so I paid him a visit. She really liked me, he really liked me, and I needed the file. Everyone was happy by noon and I got to help one of the best lawyers in the country. It's literally a win-win however you look at it from my perspective." Kyle shrugged. "Unless he starts calling me again… probably should have thought that part through a bit more but it is what it is."
"You spent the night with her son?" Jake laughed. "Your dad would die."
"What Dad doesn't know won't hurt him… Plus, I think he passed the bridge of caring about my sex life when he found out I was going to be a dad… you know, after he had just gotten used to the idea of me being gay. So…" Kyle clapped his hands. "There you are. Your legally obtained and unaltered file just in time for you to release it to the defense lawyer."
"I want to say thank you but it sounds like you prostituted yourself out." Bob stared at him.
"Oh, I do that all of the time—I'm just joking! Honestly, it isn't a big deal. Trust me, there are no hard feelings on either side. She's happy, he's happy, and I'm really happy because I hope it has something that will help you crucify this guy. I also wouldn't be as honest if Jake wasn't here but, let's be honest, Dad knew who I was going to see when he told me you needed the file and Jake probably would have told you anyway after I left."
"It's the truth." Jake shrugged. "I totally would have… just not with Blaine in the room."
"Thank you." Bob said. "Seriously."
"It's really not a big deal. I'm just glad you have it. Honestly, I am kind of ridiculously excited that I got to help you because you are, like, awesome. Trust me, if you hadn't just come back from six weeks off you would have beat me that last year." Kyle shrugged. "I'm sorry about your dad, though."
"Thank you." Bob said, looking surprised.
"I have to go and pick up my baby before my sister kills me so… see you all later. Hopefully not for four more weeks since I'm on paternity leave, though."
"You're on paternity leave?" Jake asked. "Why did you go to Maryland?"
"I said I was going to do it before she was born and honestly, it was nice getting away for fifteen hours." Kyle admitted. "See you, Jake."
"Bye, Kyle. Tell everyone I said hi."
Bob turned to Jake after Kyle left, looking confused. "Did you know he was gay?"
"I've known him since he was five, so yeah. I'm pretty sure the only person that didn't know he was gay was his father… I worked at their firm for a long time and the oldest brother is our age so I've kept in touch with him. I hate going up against them but they're all good people… Which makes it even worse." Jake shook his head. "What are the chances he used to date the record keeper's son? Or that his dad would suggest you ask him to go?"
"I don't know but I am not going to complain." Bob said, opening the folder. "I could use a miracle right now because that thing with his wife is definitely not happening."
"Anything good in there?" Jake asked, coming over.
Bob raised a thin CD in a case up. "Well… this could be good."
"Shut the fuck up." Jake gasped.
"I have to make a copy of this and get to the court house." Bob grabbed his messenger bag and left without another word.
"I mean… if you're going to have sex with an ex to get evidence… at least it was worth it?" Blaine asked, tilting his head.
"I don't think you understand. That stuff literally has to be exchanged in twenty minutes." Jake said. "He's like the fairy godfather of law right now… I didn't mean fairy as in because he's gay. That could have been taken the wrong way."
"I know what you meant… But literally twenty minutes?" Blaine asked, completely unfazed.
Jake looked at his watch. "Well, eighteen now."
"Damn."
…
"I still can't believe this." Bob said two hours later, at his desk and looking at everything in the folder Kyle had given him.
"That lady wouldn't even look me in the eyes and she just hands it over to him?" Brian was standing behind Bob and looking over his shoulder. "Did you listen to it?"
"Oh yeah." Bob nodded, flipping through pages. "There is no way his lawyer is getting him out of this one. He's been arrested three other times for battery of gay people and conveniently the days charges were dropped, large amounts of money were removed from his bank accounts. There was a fourth time that didn't even make it to trial because he pled guilty but literally didn't even have to do anything. He definitely has a buddy in jail or in the court over there."
"What about the CD? I wonder if his lawyer has listened to it yet?" Brian asked.
"Oh, I'll know as soon as he does. This is the only time I have ever wanted a phone to ring." Bob laughed, sounding happier than Blaine had heard him in weeks.
It had been several very long weeks.
"Did you show Blaine yet?" Brian asked.
Bob shook his head as his phone rang and stepped out saying, "Robert Colloway."
Brian brought the folder over to Blaine. "Don't worry. I took the pictures out."
"I'm fine." Blaine, who had been slouching a bit, sat up straight.
"Most of the stuff in here is what their DA's office sent over but these three forms are different." Brian explained, pulling out three sheets and explaining what they were.
"Did the guy admit it in that recording?" Blaine asked.
"Not explicitly but you can hear someone in the investigation room reassuring him that he won't be arrested for 'even though (he) raped the girl.' Someone somewhere is corrupt and/or covering for him. If that doesn't cut his credibility of roleplaying and it being consensual sex, I don't know what will."
"Does that mean Bob will do a plea deal then? Or will it still go to court"?
"Bob doesn't do plea deals… and honestly, I don't think he would give up the satisfaction of playing this CD in front of a judge and seeing the guy's reaction." Brian said. "Honestly, the defendant will probably still want to go on the off chance one of the jurors is dumb enough to say they don't think he's guilty."
"Is it a sure deal?"
"It's never a sure deal really… but as long as the judge isn't corrupt or the jury hasn't been tampered with, it'll be pretty hard for the guy to talk his way out of it now. Also, Bob is definitely going to use the police officer in the recording as a witness. He already issued a subpoena. He'll probably get the summons at work tomorrow."
"If he lies, he'll be perjuring himself." Blaine said.
"Yeah… and if he does lie that whole office will be searched to find anything else they may have lied about which will look a lot worse for everyone in Baltimore." Brian nodded. "He won't want that."
"Do you think he'll get the full 25 years?"
"This isn't a New York case. If he's convicted 25 years is the minimum for first degree and it can get him put in for life. We both know what Bob's going to request."
"So… what happens now?" Blaine asked.
"We wait for the judge to set a trial date, hope reporters don't try to come to the office, and we wait for it to be over. He probably has what he needs to win but he'll still try to get as much as he can."
"Will anybody go to Maryland with him?"
"No. He usually doesn't take anyone with him but he'll be fine."
"Is that… safe?"
"His hotel reservations and rental car will be booked under a false name so nobody can know exactly where he's been or what he's driving. He'll still probably have a police escort to and from the hotel and court for however long the trial lasts."
"How long do you think he'll be gone?"
"It's a three hour drive. He'll probably go up the day before the trial and come home right after it's over. Technically it could last only one day depending on how early they get in there and if everything moves quickly… It could also be several days, though, if it gets dragged out. If the girl needs a break, they'll reconvene the next morning. The jury will probably play the biggest part in it lasting longer, though. With stuff like this it can be a unanimous response within twenty minutes or it could take days to even come to a decision. If the jury can't agree, it's a hung jury and it could all start over again… It's untelling." Brian looked up when Bob came back in. "Well?"
"Monday." Bob said.
"Wait, they're doing the trial Monday?" Brian looked surprised.
"Wait. Doesn't it usually take at least thirty days after everything is submitted and both people have talked with the judge one on one?" Blaine asked.
"Remember how I said high profile cases get altered rules? This is one of those cases. The Baltimore court wants it over. The girl and her family want it to be over. The only one that probably wishes they had more time is the asshole rapist but it is what it is at this point. He better hope his hog Trump fan lawyer is really good at bullshitting is all I have to say." Bob sighed.
"You do realize it's Wednesday, right?"
"No, I actually was not aware of that fact. Thank you."
Brian gave Blaine a look.
Blaine looked back and shrugged.
Long Time Coming
"Hey, I'm home." Blaine said late Sunday night, coming into the apartment. He bent down to pet Kreacher and Winnie and then went into the living room where Kurt was watching the news.
"Hey." Kurt said, eyes glued to the TV.
Kurt, much like Ryan, had gotten more and more anxious as the trial drew closer and closer.
Now it was ten hours away and the media's cameras were already set up in the court room, waiting.
Blaine bent, kissed the top of his head, and then sat next to him.
"Do you think he is going to win?" Kurt asked, looking at him. He'd asked that every day Blaine had gotten home for a week.
"If he doesn't win, it is only because the case has gotten so big." Blaine whispered—although, honestly, he didn't need to whisper. It wasn't like any interns or idiot lawyers would hear and repeat him.
Still, it was habit to talk about it quietly unless an office or conference room door was closed.
"He won Ryan's though. He should win this one."
"Ryan is from Cambridge. Baltimore has at least five times more people, meaning that is a lot more people to know what happened and talk about it." Blaine leaned his head against Kurt's.
"Does Bob know? About me?" Kurt sat up and scooted back a bit to look at him.
"Yeah." Blaine nodded.
"I had a feeling… and that's completely okay. I know I wasn't raped but even being assaulted alone is traumatizing. I really hope the girl gets justice even if I didn't." Kurt admitted. "I kind of wanted to say something the other day when I saw Bob, but he looked so stressed out and tired that I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"Ryan talked to him on Friday. He hasn't been near any of the talk since those three guys that one day so I think Bob was pretty surprised."
"He hasn't been helping?"
"No but it's okay. We've got good lawyers in Cambridge who came down and we've got Brian, Jake and Bob. Plus, two of the new lawyers who are older are really good… and people from three different firms have been helping Bob with stuff, too. I guess everyone wants to help but no one wants to be the one up there in court… Have you been watching the news all day?" Blaine looked at him, concerned.
"Off and on, yeah…" Kurt bit his lip.
"Have they just been talking about the trial or the lawyers too?"
"Lawyers too. I knew Bob was good but this guy on CNN went on about him for ten minutes talking about the cases he's taken, how he hasn't lost a sexual assault case yet, how he's from a small town in the country and got into Harvard and is one of the top ten lawyers in the country… and they showed snippets of things he's said in opening and closing statements for other cases, things he's said about other cases that he hasn't handled. They also talked about how he won't say anything on camera to reporters or anyone outside of the court room which shows he's not even doing it for the attention. He just really wants to… help." Kurt sighed a bit. "The other guy sounds like the worst kind of horrible."
"Yeah. He was super rude to Bob at arraignment and he calls Bob a bumpkin and yokel all of the time in his millions of interviews." Blaine scoffed.
"What does that even mean?"
"Uneducated people from the country." Blaine shrugged. "Wait, did you say he's one of the top ten lawyers in the country? Last year he was in the top fifteen!"
"That's what the guy said. Apparently, he's the second top lawyer for sexual assault too."
"Well I wish the top lawyer had taken the case. This last month and a half has have been chaos… and that's just been the craziest part." Blaine sighed. "I think Bob needs a vacation."
"It sounds like Bob always needs a vacation." Kurt laughed quietly. "Oh, and they showed him saying something about Trump to a FOX news reporter last week when he left the Baltimore courthouse which was hilarious."
"The whole office has talked to him about that and I think he's getting pretty annoyed. Ryan said they'll talk about him on the news for a week or two after the trial and then everyone will forget his name until his next high profile thing comes up." Blaine nodded. "Did you watch Fox?"
"Oh, they're saying horrible things about him and the case so I quit watching after a few minutes." Kurt admitted. "I got mad. Does Bob get mad?"
"Honestly when he hears stuff he just rolls his eyes or brings up something horrible the newscaster saying it has done." Blaine shrugged this time. "I feel like he's used to it. He doesn't even watch the news when he's doing something this big. Ryan usually watches to make sure they're not saying anything too outlandish about him but given the nature of the case and his past, Tammy Jo and Brian have been watching."
"I wouldn't watch either with the stuff FOX news is saying." Kurt looked at him. "So, guess what?"
"What?" Blaine sat up straight.
"It's gone."
"What's gone?"
"The cancer. It's in remission."
Blaine gasped. "Really?"
"Yeah. They ran a lot of tests when he finished his last round of Chemo and his blood work is clean, his lymph nodes are good, and they couldn't find any sign of cancer. They said it's gone."
"Kurt, that's great! You should have texted me!"
"You've been helping with important stuff, babe. I didn't want to throw you off. Honestly, I got off the phone with him about two hours ago. He was pretty tired so he was heading to bed." Kurt had a big smile on his face.
"Oh my God." Blaine let out a long, relieved sigh. "I mean I know they said he would be fine but…"
"Yeah. Cancer is scary." Kurt nodded. "I really hope it stays in remission."
"Oh, they'll keep an eye on him for a long time. They always do. Wes' aunt had cancer and when it went into remission, they did tests every month to make sure everything was still in the clear… Then they went to every four months, then eight months, and now she goes once a year." Blaine said. "I don't know if they would see Burt less or more than that but I'm sure they'll keep an eye on it since he's had it once. If anything comes back again, they'll know."
Kurt nodded again and laughed. "He said once he feels better from the Chemo, they're going to come up for a couple of days to spend with us, Finn, Rachel, and the babies. Well, toddler and baby… I told them they could have the guest room."
"Why?" Blaine let out an over exaggerated sigh.
Kurt nuzzled Blaine's shoulder and then let out a tiny sigh.
"You okay?"
"No. I mean, yes. I'm good. I guess I'm just…" Kurt hesitated.
"What?"
"Baltimore is a huge city… compared to most places in the state… If a trial can get this big and Bob doesn't win… It feels like a huge step backward for the LGBT community, I guess. A lot of communities, really. Does that make sense?"
"Yes." Blaine nodded. "The way Jake put it is that if this wasn't high profile and they had the same evidence, it would be a slam dunk… but it's election time so political parties are going at each other like crazy, minorities are fighting for more rights than ever before… There's a lot of outside stuff going on that shouldn't affect a rape trial but that is affecting it. If he doesn't win the case, it's not because he's not right or because he did something wrong. It just happened to fall at a pretty inopportune time."
"This is his eighth high profile case, right?"
"Yes." Blane nodded again. "With the exception of two, he's won all of the high profile ones."
"How is Bob doing?"
"At the moment Brian is freaking out because Ryan is freaking out because Tammy is freaking out over the fact that Bob is not freaking out. He was kind of freaking out until Wednesday… he was calm Thursday and most of Friday. Then he was freaking out again Friday afternoon and yesterday. But now it's just like… nothing. He reviewed all of his stuff, made sure he had everything ready to go, and headed for Baltimore at four."
Kurt ran his fingers through Blaine's curls. Because it was Sunday and no, Blaine was not styling his hair to go in when no clients or even administrative staff would be there regardless of Bob's insinuation that he looked like an overgrown teenager. It's not even like his hair was long and apparently Ryan thought it was adorable, so…
"Do you think he's okay now?"
"I mean, the trial starts at eight in the morning. There's not much he can do about it at this point, right? Both sides have all the evidence and points being made. The girl hasn't been seen in public in, like, five days."
"Do you think the protests outside of the courthouse and the Baltimore Department of Human Resources will still happen tomorrow?" Kurt asked.
"They'll be moved back across the street, but they won't make them leave. It would probably be more trouble than it's worth."
"What is everyone else saying at work?"
"I think half of the staff is freaking out and thinking he'll lose, but Bob's never lost a sexual assault case, so the other half is completely unbothered… Which kind of mirrors Bob's feelings this last week funnily enough."
"That makes sense." Kurt said, raising his arm when Blaine leaned against him. "Do you think he'll win it?"
"Yes. It's Bob." Blaine nodded, snuggling right up and fitting perfectly. "Sexual assault and kids get him really fired up. I would be very surprised if he didn't."
"Do you think he'll just…. Come back to work when the trial is over?"
"Yeah. He told Ryan he'd be in tomorrow after it was over if it doesn't get dragged out for too long. He'll probably stop by at home first, though." Blaine nodded against his chest. "He really misses Emily. She's usually asleep by the time he gets home and he leaves before she wakes up."
"He's not even going to take the rest of the day off?"
"I don't know if he'll want to. A lot of stuff has been pushed off to prepare for this case. The only higher ranking lawyer that hasn't been assisting on this case is Ryan, so that's like five full time lawyers that have to get caught up." Blain explained.
"Why hasn't Ryan helped?"
"The same thing happened to him." Blaine frowned. "The exact same thing… only it didn't blow up like this. Bob was the lawyer that represented him… I think it's been really hard for Ryan between what those three guys that got fired said and because even if people aren't talking about specifics on the case, it's mostly what everyone in the office is talking about."
"That's terrible." Kurt frowned. "And he's not missed work at all?"
"No. He went home early the day those three guys said that in front of him but that's it. Speaking of that, Ryan's husband came to pick him up that day at went off on Bob… not that it's Bob's fault but Bob also wasn't really making people not talk about it… but it's not like they would do it around Bob anyway. Apparently, they wouldn't even do it in front of me." Blaine frowned. "I think it's common knowledge that Bob and I are pretty close."
"Well you're training under him."
"Yeah. But Brian has figured out it runs deeper than just him being my mentor… and Brian is the third busiest lawyer in the office, after Bob and Ryan." Blaine bit his lip. "I hope Bob doesn't get in trouble or anything."
"Does Ryan know? And Tammy Jo?"
"Ryan does… I think Tammy Jo has figured it out too but they haven't talked about it." Blaine nodded.
"Then don't worry. If there was going to be anything said it would have been said already. Plus, it sounds like Ryan and Bob are pretty close too."
"Yeah. The people that have been in CMJ for a long time are all pretty tight knit." Blaine nodded. He then looked at Kurt. "I know you're going to get annoyed when I ask this but what if I'm not a good lawyer?"
Kurt looked at him, surprised. That was the last thing he'd expected from Blaine—who was in the 85th percentile.
"What did you just say?" Kurt asked.
"What if I'm not a good lawyer?"
Kurt shook his head, smiling.
"What?" Blaine gave Kurt an annoyed look.
"There is no literal way you could be a bad lawyer once you have the swing of things, Blaine. You know it all… you'll just have to figure out the proper way to utilize what you know. Bob said himself that you'd have a few flops and then once you get into the swing of things, you'll do great. Bob hasn't been wrong about anything yet so far." Kurt gave him a look.
"Yeah." Blaine nodded.
"When do you start training? I know everything got pushed back with this craziness."
"Honestly, Brian has been showing me a lot of paperwork stuff and some of the programs they use on the computer for storing documents and notes and stuff." Blaine said. "When Bob's back, we're going to watch a lot of trials—some with good lawyers and bad lawyers to show the differences… and I'm going to watch him in court too once he gets new cases."
"I bet that will be fun."
"Is that sarcasm I detect?" Blaine looked amused.
"No, never." Kurt joked. "Hopefully it will be fun. On the bright side, it will be something new for you to do."
"Yeah. I hope Bob takes a few days to just… not do too much. Ryan said he won't take any time off, though, so we will see."
"You, Blaine Anderson, may have played a very big part in helping this girl get justice tomorrow. How does that feel?"
"I didn't really do anything. I mean, they showed me what they were doing as they did it but… you know."
"How do you feel, though? Knowing everything will go back to normal tomorrow?"
"Relieved… and tired. I can't imagine how Bob and Brian are feeling right now." As if on cue, Blaine yawned.
"Are you hungry? I can make you something." Kurt looked at him.
"No, I'm good. I had a sandwich earlier. I think I want to go to bed, though, if that's okay."
"Okay." Kurt nodded as Blaine sat up.
"Don't stay up too late watching this, okay? They're going to keep repeating the same stuff over and over anyway."
"I'll come to bed soon." Kurt promised, smiling at him. "Good night, I love you."
"Goodnight. I love you too." Blaine smiled back before heading towards their bedroom.
Kurt bit back another smile when Winnie crawled out from under the coffee table and followed him. As soon as her tail was in the door, Blaine gently shut it.
Long Time Coming
"Boo."
Bob slid into a booth at a restaurant in front of Blaine.
"Hey! Congrats!" Blaine beamed, looking up from his phone.
"It was a team effort." Bob shrugged.
Blaine gave him a look, rolled his eyes, and then asked, "Did you see Ryan?"
"Yeah. I stopped by. Actually, he came out to the parking lot because I was not about to go in there." Bob yawned a bit. "Did you order yet?"
"Of course I did. I'm hungry. Come on. I ordered your usual."
"I know I say this once a week… and I shouldn't admit it… I'm not supposed to have a favorite but if I did…" Bob grinned.
"It happens." Blaine grinned back. "So, how do you feel? It's done!"
"Thank God. It feels like I need a very long nap. There's really no point in going to the office this late anyway because the amount of time until we close is how long people would be asking questions… plus I've heard not much is being done anyway." Bob rolled his eyes but didn't look too annoyed.
"In their defense, the media keeps coming in and demanding to speak to you. although if they knew how to do math, they would have realized it takes three hours to even get back to the city so they probably shouldn't show up thirty minutes after the verdict is released. They were literally trying to get in as soon as the verdict was announced." Blaine said.
"Another reason why I'm just going to eat dinner, go home, and sleep."
"You could have gone home. We could have talked tomorrow." Blaine told him.
"No. I wanted to see you today. I feel like we haven't had a real conversation that wasn't about work stuff in…" Bob looked thoughtful.
"Two months?"
"Yeah something like that." Bob nodded. "Sorry."
"No! It's okay! You've been super busy. I don't think I ever want to do high profile cases after all of this though."
"Save yourself the headache and just say no. It's honestly not worth the money if it's not important to you. When it is important to you, the money doesn't really matter. Well, at least it shouldn't." Bob shrugged. "How are things in the real world? You know, not CMJ and craziness."
"Oh, it's still crazy. My best friend's girlfriend may or may not be pregnant. Since he hasn't said she isn't, we're leaning towards yes."
"The one who already had a baby?"
"No, that's Wes. They had that problem, uh, snipped?" Blaine shrugged. "The other one, David."
"He's a doctor and she's a nurse. If she is pregnant they'll be fine." Bob said.
"He's a… planner."
"Yeah. So was I and now I've got five kids and a half Filipino adopted child." Bob gave him a look. "It'll all work out the way it's supposed to… or something like that."
"Yeah, I guess. Is your mom moving back home?"
"Remind me to never point out that she can move in again when I get stressed out at work. I walked right into that. I think my brother is coming to pick her up the day after tomorrow." Bob yawned again. "How are you? How is Kurt? Are you two wedding planning?"
"I'm good. Kurt's still working too much but loving it so he's good. I think he's going to California for two weeks around the holidays which I'm not really excited about." Blaine admitted.
"During them?" Bob frowned.
"No. Right after Thanksgiving… but he will have off two weeks before Christmas because of the overtime he'll make, so that will be nice I guess."
"You are too social to be left on your own."
"Yeah. I'll probably crash at Wes'. Scarlett and I have an arrangement where if I get kicked out, I share her nursery… She didn't say no, so I took it as a yes." Blaine's expression was serious.
"How well can she even talk? Does she know what she agreed to?"
"She knows 47 words."
"That's very specific. How do you know that?"
"Well Wes and AJ are both biochemists… although Wes thinks AJ is crazy for keeping track. She has a running list of the words she's said." Blaine laughed. "Her most frequent apart from the usual is 'buzz' and 'bee.'"
"Most eighteen month old babies now closer to 100 words. Have they talked to the doctor?"
"Oh, she's actually learning sign language and English… and once she has English down they are going to teach her Spanish. Well, AJ will. Wes can't learn another language to save his life… it's the only thing he can't do actually." Blaine looked thoughtful.
"How do all three of you have such… prestigious jobs?"
"Dalton was a private school so you pretty much had to have perfect grades. Honestly it was harder than UK… Getting my undergrad was a walk in the park, though." Blaine admitted.
"Did you have a scholarship?"
"I had a half scholarship starting my sophomore year through graduation… My grandmother paid the other half. You know, Dalton looks nice when giving family profiles. We were a close family and she really valued family, children and education." Blaine rolled his eyes.
"How did you keep such good grades with… well, everything that was going on?"
"After… I moved out?"
"That whole time, I guess." Bob nodded.
"In the end my grades ended up as A's but I turned a lot of stuff in late and had to get extra credit on tests." Blaine looked thoughtful. "My psychiatrist talked to the dean and they worked with me since I'd always had such good grades my first three semesters. By the time I was a junior, things had evened out a lot and I was back to some semblance of normal… Normal enough to get my homework done and focus in class, that is."
"It took half a year?" Bob frowned.
"Yeah. I wasn't dealing with it well and didn't want to take the medicine because it made me feel funny. I didn't want to do the breathing to calm myself down when I was getting anxious or stuff was too much… The only thing that wasn't effected was soccer but that's probably because I got to kick a ball really hard for an hour and a half." Blaine joked.
"Did you have someone to talk to through all of this?"
"Oh yeah. David's dad paid for my psychiatrist and that summer I saw her three times a week and after school started I would go one day during the week after classes and then on Saturdays. She was the one prescribing all of my stuff too, so she knew everything that was going on." Blaine nodded.
Bob looked relieved.
"She was good."
"How long did you stay on medicine?"
"I started the summer before junior year and I think I fully came off of it completely in winter of senior year… The first eight months I was pretty horrible, though. That's when I… you know, with the car. And I was doing a lot of unhealthy things to feel good in the moment and after I'd feel even worse about myself. Once I started taking the medicine like I was supposed to my depression got better. There were still times I would quit taking it but by that point she and everyone else could tell pretty quickly when I wasn't taking it."
Blaine picked up his straw wrapper, folding it until it was a thick sliver of paper.
"I'm glad you got better." Bob said after nearly a minute of silence.
"Thanks. Me too." Blaine looked up from the wrapper. "You were the baby of the family. Did you get into trouble?"
"There wasn't much to do to get in trouble in Aroostook." Bob forced a laugh.
"You did nothing that you shouldn't have?" Blaine gave him a look. "I don't believe that."
"I got drunk and bought an alpaca when I was sixteen?"
"What?!"
"How did you get it home?"
"I called Jake… he picked me up and the alpaca rode in the back seat."
"You're lying."
"I'm not. If you ask him about it, he'll get irritated and tell you that it peed on his seats."
"I never know if you're teasing me because I'm gullible."
"You are pretty gullible… but seriously. It stayed in my room with me until left for college… apartments don't approve of alpacas as pets for some reason." Bob shrugged.
"Did you really…?"
"Yes. That is the worst thing I've ever done while underage. Getting drunk, going to a petting zoo, and buying an alpaca." Bob nodded.
"Everyone does something stupid when they're young. What about after you turned 18?"
Bob rolled his eyes.
"There is something else." Blaine pulled Bob's sweet tea across the table. If one thing would make Bob talk, it was stealing his sweet tea.
"You can't just steal my drink."
"Tell me." Blaine whined.
"I'm really thirsty now."
"You've not touched your drink in ten minutes. You only want it now because I stole it."
"Fine. Sarah and I did things in public. Okay?" Bob reached over, pulling his drink back towards him.
"That's not that bad. Most of the people have had sex in a bathroom or fitting room in public."
"Well it was kind of a thing to see how much we could really get away with."
"So, what, like… in parks?"
"Some." Bob shrugged. "Central Park and Hyde Park."
"Hyde Park?"
"Well we took a summer trip and traveled when we were 26 so… there were a few places not in the states. A lot of popular attractions…"
"Shut up. Where?"
"I cannot talk to you about this stuff."
"Oh, come on. I've been convinced you've never done a wrong thing in your life and you've had sex in Hyde Park." Blaine scoffed. "Where else?"
"I don't know… roofs, churches, train cars, beaches?"
Blaine gave Bob a look.
"Faneuil Hall?"
"Bob. You said you've done stuff at attractions. I'm talking the real ones."
"Disney World and Disneyland. The White House—we almost got caught there. Grand Canyon… the Navy Pier in Chicago…"
"You're making this up." Blaine laughed.
"The Louvre. Notre Dam. Tower of London."
Blaine's jaw dropped.
"Brady was actually conceived in Notre Dam. Does that make him Catholic by default?" Bob tilted his head.
Blaine stared at him.
"We really wanted to try at the Eiffel Tower but the only place to get away was a bathroom and Sarah's weird about germs." Bob shrugged again.
"Oh my God. I don't believe you."
"Ask Sarah if you don't believe me."
"Quit bullshitting. Have you ever had sex in your office?"
"Not in fifteen years… Law offices are the last place to get me in the mood for anything like that."
"Wait. Where in Disney World? In, like, a public area…?"
"Well yeah otherwise it wouldn't have been very exciting."
"I mean… do you two still now?"
"Nope." Bob said, facial expression not changing.
"Yes, you do!"
"I've not gone on a vacation since the trip when we were 26."
"Pfft. There are big places in the US. Statue of Liberty?"
"Oh yeah. There too."
"Oh my God."
Bob just took a drink of his tea and then said, "We are never talking about this again."
"Yeah right." Blaine scoffed.
"You were just distracting me so I'd quit asking you questions about school."
"I was." Blaine nodded. "I had no idea it would result in that, though. Was Brady really conceived there?"
"Yep. We are positive." Bob nodded. "No more answers for you, Blaine."
"How is he?"
"Who?"
"Brady. Is he being… nicer?"
"He broke up with his girlfriend so he's been a lot better to be around actually."
"Did he apologize for the stuff he said to you?"
"No. He won't. I know he feels bad, though, so I'm not going to push it." Bob shrugged as their food came out.
"So what happens now?"
"With Brady?" Bob looked confused.
"No. With work."
"Oh. Well people will call like crazy wanting me to represent them even though half of them can't afford me and the other half will be cases I wouldn't take anyway… And I get a chance to really train you… because one day you're going to make me a lot of money. Well, the office."
"How long before I have my own case?"
"Technically and legally, you could right now… but I would not recommend that. The case came at the worst time so we really need to get you and Adrian ready. We'll go over old cases and have you tell me what you'd do, explain why you'd do it that way, and then I will tell you what you said that was right or wrong. You did get to shadow a lot on this one, though, so you're probably farther along than I even know. I know Brian was pulling you and Adrian in on stuff and going over things."
"Are you training Adrian too?"
"No. He wants to only do civil rights. He would be much better off with Brian training him since I don't take those on too often. You want to mainly do criminal law—at least now— so I'll train you. And you can always feel free to talk with the other criminal law lawyers if you want, too."
"I'm good with you."
Bob laughed a bit.
"So is Ryan going to not train him anymore?"
"Oh, Ryan can still train him and help him as much as Adrian wants him to… I'll have to make sure he knows to not talk about LGBT stuff, though, if he wants to train with Ryan because that wouldn't end well… but yes. Ryan can still train him. Adrian's worked with him for more than three years. They're comfortable together, so he'll go to Ryan with the questions he's too embarrassed to ask someone else."
"Can we watch criminal trials?"
"Yeah. I'll try to get a schedule or see what I can find out." Bob nodded.
"Do you think I'll have a lot of flops when I start?"
"I think you shouldn't put too much stock in your first three months of active cases. You'll have to get used to different things… how to go against different lawyers, knowing what to say stuff, how to say it, and when to stay it. You'll have some flops but everyone does. I had several my first year. The biggest reason is inexperience and that will not reflect on you as a lawyer."
Blaine nodded.
"You'll do great, though. Once you get the swing of things you're going to be so good. Adrian too. We got lucky with you two in the same year." Bob said. "Are you stressing?"
"I'm stressing because I want to be done with that part… but I'm also less stressed because I feel like I did see a lot of stuff watching the big case. When I heard you and Brian talking about it, it made more sense because I knew what you were actually talking about." Blaine looked thoughtful.
"I hate to say it but you should get back to work." Bob said. "If you're late Tammy Jo will figure out you came to meet me."
"I knew that was coming." Blaine sighed.
"Stop by the house later if you want to."
"I can't. Kurt wants to go look at a venue. I thought I would get out of it letting him choose everything but—"
"Letting him choose everything?"
"Yeah. I told him that he could pick everything if we got to go to Disney World and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for our honeymoon. Hey, don't laugh at me."
"I-I'm sorry. That's the last thing I expected you to say." Bob shook his head, laughing. "You have all of this money. You could go anywhere… but you pick two theme parks within twenty miles of each other."
"I don't like your judgement." Blaine stood and grabbed ten dollars out of his pocket.
"No. I will never take money from you." Bob shook his head. "Have fun looking at the venue tonight. If you get too bored, just remember soon you get to see Harry Potter."
"Can we get lunch tomorrow too? Since you're paying?" Blaine grinned.
"Go on." Bob rolled his eyes.
"Congratulations again, though. I know people helped but you're awesome."
"Thanks, Blaine." Bob smiled. "I'll see you in the morning at nine."
"Yeah, I'll try really hard."
Bob laughed and shook his head as Blaine left the restaurant, knowing he wouldn't see Blaine even a second before 9:15.