Chapter 10 - Do Or Die


"Kurt?"

Kurt was snapped out of his daydream by Connor's voice.

His boyfriend was poring over his latest law school assignment, a transcript of one of Annalise's trials in front of him, his pen tapping against his legal pad idly.

"Sorry. Just…spaced out today."

Connor stood up, walked over to Kurt, and snaked his arms around Kurt's waist as the latter prepared dinner. "Thinking about the trial?"

Kurt leaned back into Connor's comforting embrace. "Yeah," he lied. "Even though I've been prepped, I just hate having to relive it."

"It'll just be once more and then you can start to heal. Annalise…she uh, she wanted me to talk to you about seeing Sam."

Kurt sighed. "I don't understand why she's so insistent on me seeing him. I told her I don't need that sort of help. I just need to forget and move on."

Connor kissed the spot behind Kurt's ear that made him shiver. "Might not be such a bad idea, get some tips from a professional on how to deal with this. Because we live together Kurt, and I know that you haven't been."

Kurt stilled, abandoning his cooking and removing himself from Connor's grasp. "What do you mean?"

"I hear you in the night sometimes. It's been on your mind a lot."

"Well, of course it has! It's like…everywhere I go, people get hurt. And I know it's probably just coincidence and has nothing to do with me, but I can't keep doing it, Connor. I can't keep living my life in fear of when the next traumatic thing is going to happen to me."

Connor folded his arms. "So why not let someone help you with that?"

"And relive everything all over again? It's been hard enough telling you about my past, never mind Sam Keating. I don't even know him."

"How about just one meeting with him? You don't even have to talk, just let him outline how he can help you, see if it's something you might benefit from."

"You really think it's a good idea?"

Connor eyes flickered from Kurt's to the wall and back again. "I saw someone after I left my ex-boyfriend. I'm not saying it completely healed me, but I wouldn't be in anywhere near as better as I am know without her. If it helped me, I think it might help you too. We're wired the same."

Kurt bit his lip. "Okay. One session."

"I'll set it up with Annalise tomorrow."

Kurt surged forward and kissed Connor deeply. "Thank you. For not giving up on me even when I had."

"That's what I'm here for, baby. I won't let you fall into that dark place. I'll be the light that keeps you out of it."

"Poetic," Kurt chuckled. "Are you sure you haven't been possessed?"

Connor flipped Kurt around and drew an arm across his shoulders, forearm pressing gently against his throat. "Why don't you check for yourself?"


"What the hell are you doing here?"

Sam Keating stopped in the doorway, appraising Kurt as he was sat with Annalise.

Annalise looked at Sam sharply. "He asked to speak with me."

Kurt was studying Sam's expression, wanting to see if he could glean anything about why he wanted him to gone. "Actually, I'd appreciate it if you would join us."

Sam shook his head. "I have things to do."

Kurt shrugged. "Okay. I'm sure Annalise will feed it back to you later."

Annalise frowned. "Would I?"

"I'm almost certain of it."

Sam folded his arms. "I don't like the idea of you in my house when I'm not around."

Kurt swallowed heavily, knowing he had to keep up his bravado in order to get the answers he so desperately wanted. "Annalise allowed me inside so I'm staying. You can either sit with us and hear me out or leave and hear about it later."

"Are you telling me what to do in my own house, boy?"

Annalise sighed. "Sam, stop it. Kurt's right. You said you were busy but yet want to supervise this, clearly. You can't have it both ways."

Kurt blew out a small sigh of relief that Annalise had defended him. Depending on her knowledge of her husband and reaction to Kurt's suspicions, she could grow hostile towards him. He didn't think she would, but she was hard to read and people were unpredictable when it came to their loved ones.

Sam lingered in the doorway. "Make it quick."

Kurt cleared his throat, eyes fixed on Annalise. "I'd like to ask you something. Did you have Frank threaten me to leave town?"

Annalise's surprise was clear on her face, eyes widening slightly. "No, Kurt. I…"

Kurt smiled bitterly as she trailed off, confirming his suspicions. His gaze flickered to Sam. "So it was you."

"What makes you say that?" Sam snapped.

Kurt lifted his head a little, holding it high and absolutely not backing down. "How defensive you're being right now. How you can never look me in the eye for too long. And Connor told me how Frank seems to do whatever you tell him to. There's probably a story there, but it told me all I needed to know. What I don't know is why."

Annalise looked like she wanted to speak but decided against it.

Sam huffed, clearly displeased with what was being levelled against him. "You don't know anything about Frank."

"I don't. I do know that he was very intent of making sure I left town. Funny, my dad wants me to come home too. Should I take that as a sign from above?"

Kurt froze, feeling stupid for not putting it together.

"So my dad asked you to get me to leave? I'm confused, he accepted my decision on the phone."

Annalise swallowed heavily, hating the confusion in his eyes. "Kurt…"

Sam stepped forward, jabbing a finger at Annalise. "Annalise, don't!"

"You seriously expected him to leave town without knowing why?"

"I didn't expect to be having this conversation right now."

Annalise glowered at him. "Well, I think it's one that needs to be had, don't you?"

"This isn't appropriate," Sam huffed.

Kurt scoffed in return. "Appropriate flew out the window when I was threatened into leaving town. I'll be doing no such thing, at least not without sufficient reason to, but I am not happy about it."

"Maybe you should go back to Lima, Kurt."

Kurt glowered at the man. "How do you know where I'm from?"

Kurt knew that he'd caught Sam in a trap. If he let on that Frank told him, it would confirm Kurt's suspicions. If not, he'd have to name an alternate way of knowing information about him which would undoubtedly raise its own set of questions.

Sam opted for the former. "Frank looked into you and told me."

Kurt nodded, pleased with his manipulation of the conversation. "Before you instructed him to get me to leave. I'm putting my foot down now, I want to know why."

Annalise clenched her jaw. "I think you should know."

"So tell me."

Sam growled. "You want him hearing that from you?"

"Oh, would one of you just tell me?"

Annalise sighed. "Sam is—."

Before she could finish her sentence, Frank melted into the room from around the corner, obviously unsatisfied.

"Shouldn't you be packing?" Frank barked.

Kurt pursed his lips. "I was just about to find out the big reason why my presence is so deeply reviled here. Then I'll decide whether I'd like to stay."

"You clearly didn't understand our last conversation."

"Oh, I understood just fine."

Frank surged forward and grabbed Kurt by the arm, dragging him out of the room. Kurt pushed back, but Frank was too strong. Frank led him into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

"Was that really necessary?" Annalise spat. "Why don't you want him to know the truth?"

Sam stared at her coldly. "Why do you want him to know? Just so you can continue to rub it in my face?"

"Because he deserves to know!"

In the hall, Frank had Kurt pressed against the wall, unable to move.

"You know, I'm beginning to think that you like putting your hands on me."

Frank just grunted.

"Do you enjoy being Sam's lackey?"

Frank glared at him.

Kurt shrugged. "I suppose it makes you feel useful, doesn't it, being loyal to someone. I would feel the same."

"Stop talking."

"Does it make you feel powerful? Throwing people around and calling it loyalty to someone who clearly doesn't give a single shit about you?"

"I said…"

"I know what you said," Kurt sneered. "I've heard everything you've have to say, the mouthpiece for doing Sam's bidding. Why you stick around for him I don't know, but as long it involves me, it becomes my business."

The door cracked open and Sam poked his head out sadly. "Let him go, Frank."

"You sure?"

"Just…let him go." Sam turned to Kurt. "Kurt…come in."

It was the nicest Sam had been to him since he arrived in town so Kurt was eager to find out why the tables had suddenly turned. He knew he would have to thank Annalise for that, however the situation played out.

Kurt slunk back into the room, Frank staying outside. Nobody said anything about his presence so he stayed put.

Sam sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. He then rose and crossed the room, pouring himself a scotch.

Annalise turned to Kurt. "Before you know, I want to tell you that this has nothing to do with why you're here, or why you're with Connor, or any of that. It's all just…coincidence."

Kurt nodded slowly. "Should I be sitting down for this?"

"You might want to, yes," Sam sighed.

Kurt, now on the verge of fear, sank into the armchair leaned forward. "Okay I'm ready."

Sam looked him in the eye for the longest duration since he'd met him. "I'm your father."


Connor sighed as he shot off another text to Kurt, who was uncharacteristically late for their lunch plans. Kurt hadn't replied with an excuse or a change of plan, there was just nothing.

Stomach rumbling, Connor eyed the menu for the fourteenth time as he imagined the plateful of eggs that should have been sitting in front of him right about then.

"Someone stand you up, cutie?" Dora, the waitress tutted, gesturing towards the coffee pot she was carrying.

Connor smiled ruefully up at her. "Looks like it."

"You wanna order anyway?"

"Sure. I'll have the—."

Connor was interrupted by the violent buzzing of his phone. He looked at Dora apologetically as he read the text that had come through.

Need you. Keating House. Please.

He didn't have to look twice to know who it was from, he only excused himself from the table, threw down a wad of cash and scarpered from the diner, the jaunty ringing of the bell echoing in his ears until he was firmly in his car.


Laurel wasn't a smoker but, in that moment, she yearned for a cigarette. It was as though she had three squabbling children in the backseat of her car who couldn't be quieted down unless bribed with something sweet or shiny.

Instead, she had Michaela in the passenger seat, Asher and Wes in the backseats, and a killer migraine in her head.

"I'm just saying that the way you study is stupid," Michaela rasped to Wes, who rolled his eyes for what must have been the hundredth time.

"And look where it got me," Wes shrugged. "The same place as you."

Michaela scoffed, as though the comparison mortally offended her. "From the waitlist. That's like being picked last for gym."

Asher cleared his throat. "Nothing wrong with that."

Michaela smirked. "It's still a step above admissions fraud, and that must be what happened in your situation. At least Wes has a functioning brain."

Asher scoffed. "I was picked for the K5 just the same as you. Professor Keating must see something in me."

Laurel sighed. "Can we just stop?" She spoke between the buzzes of her phone, which wouldn't stop. "Ugh, Michaela can you see who that is?"

Michaela gasped as she picked up the phone. "Well there's a text from…Frank. And a few miscalls from Connor. Want me to hit him back?"

Laurel nodded. "Put him on speaker."

Connor picked up immediately, sounding out of breath. "Laurel, thank fuck. Can you get over to Annalise's? Like now?"

"Connor? What's going on?"

"No time to explain. Kurt texted me what was basically an SOS and I think I need backup. Annalise, Sam, and Frank are there."

Michaela smirked over at Laurel, who blanked her.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know. I just…can you get there? Please?"

"We'll be there," Michaela piped up. "Floor it, Laurel."

"Oh, Michaela…thanks." Connor sighed.

"We'll be there in five, Connor," Laurel said calmly.

"Thanks, Laurel."

Connor hung up a second later.


Kurt blinked slowly as he tried to process the information. "You're…that's impossible."

Sam sighed, knowing that this would be the reaction. "How much do you know about your mother's life before she met Burt?"

"You know my dad?"

"We met once or twice, but that's not the point."

Kurt folded his arms. "My dad's told me some things, but not a lot. I'm guessing you have some light to shed."

Sam stood up and began to walk around. Annalise put her head in her hands.

"Your mother and I were friends at college. We tried dating but that only lasted a handful of weeks before we realised we were better off as friends. We graduated and she moved away."

"And met my dad," Kurt said, needing to refer to Burt Hummel as his father as many times.

Sam shook his head, sighing. "Kurt, Burt and your mother only met after she fell pregnant."

"No they were together for years before that."

"They weren't," Sam said softly. "There was a college reunion your mother and I both attended. Elizabeth was so…everybody wanted to see her, be around her."

"Please just get to the point," Kurt held his hand up. It was still hard to hear about his mother, even after all of these years.

"Of course." Sam sat down again. "We were catching up over a few drinks and, I'm sure I don't have to tell you what happened next."

Kurt nodded.

"She called and told me she was pregnant a few weeks later, around when I was first seeing Annalise."

Annalise cleared her throat. "It was a rough time for everyone. Your mother didn't want to intrude on our relationship, but we didn't want to leave her dealing with the pregnancy alone. We sent her money, but she sent it right back."

Kurt smiled. "That sounds like her."

"She was far too proud to take anything from me," Sam said wistfully. "She wanted to handle everything on her own. I feel like I should tell you…I tried to convince her to have an abortion."

Kurt had to let out a loud, sharp laugh, causing Annalise and Sam to look at him strangely. "Sorry, just processing the fact that you almost caused me to not exist."

"There was no almost about it," Sam explained. "Your mother chewed me out for that suggestion and told me where I could go with it. She met Burt during her pregnancy and they quickly fell in love. They agreed it would've been better for you to have you believe that Burt was your father."

Kurt exhaled deeply and ran a hand over his face. "And you swear all of this is true?"

"It's all true, Kurt," Annalise said.

"Right. Annalise, could Sam and I have a moment alone please?"

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

"Please."

Annalise sighed and nodded, pointing to Sam. "Behave."


Sam glared at her as she left the room.

Kurt clenched his jaw. "Why do you want to get rid of me so badly? Am I stirring things up?"

Sam rubbed a hand down his face. "This is all such a mess. I never thought this was going to be an issue."

"This makes sense now. My dad was so against me moving here, but he'd never give me a straight answer as to why. All he said was that I should look out for myself."

Sam nodded. "He's a good man, Burt. But he hates me."

"Gee, I wonder why."

"I understand if you feel the same, Kurt, I never wanted this."

"Never wanted me, you mean."

"If we're being completely honest, then yes. Things were going really well between Annalise and me and the pregnancy just complicated things."

"But Annalise was looking for me, right?"

"Uh…no. She wasn't. Why would she want to look for you?"

"I just presumed she…huh. Never mind."

"What is it?"

Kurt sighed. "When Connor and I first met…it was a set-up. He knew who I was and he found me in a bar after a break-up. All because he needed a witness for the shooting case. I thought it might have been a set-up. I thought Annalise might have sent him to look for me."

Sam said nothing and shook his head. "She didn't want to find you as much as I didn't."

"So it's just…coincidence that I've become tangled up in all of this?"

"Basically, yes. Frank might have taken the wrong approach, but he had the right idea, Kurt. You should leave."

"Because everything was better and easier without me around?"

Sam didn't have to say anything.

Kurt blew a bitter laugh through his nose. "Well, I'm not going. I have a boyfriend and a job and friends here. You can't just tell me to go and then expect it to happen. You and Frank and Annalise will just have to get over it."

Sam eyed him fiercely. "Between Annalise and myself, we have a lot of pull at the university. You wouldn't want to jeopardise everything that Connor had been working towards, do you?"

Kurt read between the lines and scowled. "Wow. You're really heartless. I'm so glad you were never my father."

Even though both of them were thinking it, the words still stung, hanging there like a thick cloud of poison over both of them.

"Well, I suppose it was better for both of us then in the long run," Sam said, hands on his hips as he paces the room.

Kurt shook his head. "No, you don't get to deny me like that. It was better for me because I got to grow up with a father who loved and wanted me, even though I…wasn't actually his. You missed out on knowing your son."

"That wasn't my idea!"

"But it worked out really well for you didn't it? You got to just carry on like nothing happened. Where were you when she died, huh? When my father and I had to struggle to get by because we couldn't afford all of the medical bills from her surgeries? All that time, you were here in this big house, living the life you always dreamed of."

"And why is that such a bad thing? And for the record, Kurt, I tried to help, I asked to come to the funeral, but Burt wouldn't allow it."

"He was grieving his wife! Surely you understand that he wouldn't have wanted you there."

"Elizabeth meant a lot to me too," Sam rebutted softly. "It would have been nice to have been allowed to pay my respects."

"You're doing a great job of respecting her legacy, by forcing her son, your son, to leave his home, all because my being here makes you a little bit uncomfortable. I tell you what, you might be my father, but you're not my dad."

"I'm so glad," Sam snapped.

"Oh, you're a real piece of work, Sam. My father was right to deny your existence. I wish I could do the same, quite frankly. I'm surprised Annalise has stuck around this long."

"I want you out of my house. And out of my town. This is not up for discussion. Frank won't put it so nicely next time he has to ask."

"I haven't been asked a single thing, remember? I've been told, suggestions have been made."

"And yet you still don't pick up the hint that nobody wants you here, Kurt. Go have a life somewhere else where you're not interfering with everyone else's."

"I think I'll stay, actually. Not that it's any of your business. I don't want anything further to do with you, I've gone this far without you in my life, I don't want to stick around and find out how fucked up I would've been if you were actually my dad."

At the same time that Sam Keating's fist flew across the air and connected with Kurt's cheek, the living room door flew open to reveal a breathless Connor, followed by Laurel, Michaela, Asher, and Wes, Annalise not too far behind them.

"Kurt!" Connor rushed to Kurt's side and shielded him from Sam.

"That's enough, Sam," Annalise barked, crossing the room to stand between her students and her husband.

"Get out of here, Annalise," Sam spat.

"You think you can just ask me to leave my house and expect me to do it?"

"Annalise…"

Kurt stood up, body surging with adrenaline and he wipes blood from his mouth. "I really felt the love in that punch, Dad." He sat the word with as much venom as he could muster, sending the room spinning.

"Dad?" Connor muttered.

"You little fucker," Sam growled, shoving Annalise into the nearby wall, the woman crumpling to the floor. Wes, Asher, and Michaela rushed over to her, not in Sam's immediate eyeline.

Sam advanced on Kurt and Connor, the latter standing tall in front of his boyfriend.

"I'd like to see you try, old man," Connor seethed.

Behind Sam, Michaela pulled out her phone and started recording the scene. Connor's eyes flickered to her for a second but that was enough to distract Sam's attention from the boys.

Sam spun around and advanced on Michaela, who backed into the wall. Connor wrapped an arm around Sam's throat, pulling him backwards, but the man shrugged him off, sending an elbow flying into his face. Connor doubled over, clutching his face for a second, but that was all Sam needed to get to Michaela. Wes was bent over Annalise as Asher stood up and charged into Sam, getting him away from Michaela and into the kitchen area.

Kurt and Laurel raced into the other room after Sam and Asher, prying them apart as Sam turned to Kurt. Laurel tucked Asher behind her, the boy seething with rage.

"Do you cause a scene everywhere you go, Kurt? Nothing but misery in your life, is there? A cheating fiancé, no career prospects, and a whore for a boyfriend. Elizabeth would be so ashamed of you."

As Connor and Michaela slid into the room, Kurt saw red.

In that moment, it was the first time he realised what it was like to be truly consumed by a burning rage that impacted everything. His eyeballs burned in their sockets, his fingers trembled like they were about to explode, his blood sizzled in his veins, and his jaw set, clenched harder than ever before. He had never been so furious. Not with Blaine, not with his school bullies, not even when the world had taken his mother from him.

Kurt's hand moved before he could really stop it. He sharply drew a knife from the kitchen counter and gripped the handle tight.

"Kurt," Connor's voice echoed in his ear, but Kurt ignored it.

Kurt swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and advanced towards Sam.

"You don't have it in you," Sam spat.

Kurt tilted his head, raising his brow. "How would you know?"

"Because your mother couldn't have raised a killer."

"Maybe I'll summon the unfortunate part of my DNA that came from you, the part that allows me to do things without caring what happens to other people." Kurt was trembling now, the bruising on his cheek thudding as the blood rushed around his body, hot and fast. He readjusted his grip on the knife and took a step forward.

"It's not a very smart move wielding a weapon in front of witnesses. If I die, you're the only suspect. The illegitimate son who couldn't handle his emotions, it's a done deal, a lawyer wouldn't even have to try. Though you've already been at the scene of one crime in this town, why not make it two?"

Kurt knew exactly what Sam was doing in the back of his mind. He was goading him, but keeping him talking and listening while he thought of an escape plan. Sam knew that Kurt wouldn't have plunged the knife into his chest the way he wanted to, but that only made Kurt want to do it more. He didn't really consider himself a violent person, but the fury that blazed in front of his eyes, the deep redness that clouded both his vision and his judgement, didn't let him see the logic behind that.

"Stop. Talking."

"Kurt," Connor tried again but Kurt was not listening.

Sam spotted Kurt's trembling hand around the knife handle and put on his therapist cap. "You remember how you must've felt when your mother passed?"

"Don't talk about her," Kurt gritted his teeth.

"It's one thing to watch someone die, Kurt, it's a whole other thing to be the person who causes it. Are you sure you want to find out what happens when you pierce the blade through the skin and the flesh? How surprisingly hard you have to push to tear through the muscle? How about the clanging feeling of hitting the bone? Do you want to know what that feels like? Knowing that you'll go to jail, that your mother will be looking down at him with shame in her eyes?

"Do you really hate me enough to ruin your life?"

Something about what Sam said cut through Kurt's rage and unfurled the rational part of his brain that was hiding out during this encounter. Kurt sobered a little, the knife clattering to the floor, hand flying to his mouth.

"What am I doing?"

Connor immediately wrapped his arms around Kurt, spinning him around so that he was shielded from Sam. Connor realised he now had his back to the man, so nodded at Laurel.

"Watch him," he said and Laurel nodded, stepping in between them.

Sam spat blood onto the kitchen floor. "I see you get your inability to confront your feelings from Burt."

Kurt struggled against Connor's grip, surprising the other man by being able to wrangle himself free. Connor moved to grab him again but Kurt moved out of the way. "Don't, Connor. I'm not going to do anything."

Laurel kicked the knife, the blade sliding across the floor and out of Kurt's reach. Kurt smiled at her quickly before turning back to Sam.

"Do you see what you've done, Kurt?"

Connor scoffed. "What he's done?! What about you?"

"Connor." Kurt put up a hand. "I have this."

"Do you?"

Kurt turned to him. "Yes." He turned back to Sam. "What's the point of all this? Were you really willing to test my resolve when I had a knife to your heart?"

"I knew you'd never be able to do it."

"But you took a chance. You really wanted to risk your life just to make a point and get me to leave town?"

Sam gritted his teeth. "I can't have you here, Kurt." His tone was softened a little, but Kurt's guard was still raised. "You bring back all sorts of feelings, ones that I can't quite handle."

Kurt narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you. You don't care about me. I have the bruising to prove it."

"I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have done it."

Kurt gasped. "And there it is everyone, the bare fucking minimum."

"I don't know what you want from me, Kurt? I'm not your dad."

"And you're glad for that, aren't you? But I'm not leaving town just because it makes you uncomfortable. I was here before I knew you and I'll be here after. I want nothing to do with you."

In the silence, Frank stepped into the room.

Sam nodded to him. "What we talked about."

Frank nodded gruffly and made fleeting eye contact with Laurel, whose eyes softened as he appraised her.

Before Connor could even react, Frank grabbed Kurt's upper arm. "Come on kid. Don't fight this."

Kurt couldn't root himself to the spot in time to resist being dragged away, but as Connor stepped forward to grab him, Sam rushed forward and stopped Connor, batting his hands away.

"Let this happen, Mr. Walsh."

"Over my dead body," Connor growled and shoved Sam backwards with a surprising amount of force.

The room grew silent as Sam stumbled backwards, losing his footing and falling backwards further into the kitchen.

Everyone watched in horror as Sam's head cracked loudly against the corner of the counter, the sharp edge now dotted with blood.

Sam crumpled to the floor, blood pooling across the kitchen floor.

Frank and Annalise rushed over to Sam and loomed over his body, getting blood on their hands.

Connor's eyes widened as he realised what was happening.

"Call an ambulance," Annalise screamed.

Michaela fumbled with her phone and dialled the number, stepping away to take the call.

Kurt felt Laurel put a hand on his arm in an attempt to steady him. He didn't lean into the touch but didn't shy away from it either.

"Sam!" Annalise barked, trying to support his head without moving him.

Frank put a hand on his shoulder. "Annalise…"

"No, Frank! We have to do something."

"Annalise."

Annalise stilled and looked at him closely, lips tightening.

"He's dead."