Neither boy spoke for what seemed like ages. Kurt sat down in the seat Cooper had vacated and took his boyfriend's hand.

"You shouldn't have gone after me." Blaine whispered finally.

Kurt frowned.

"What? Blaine, the police weren't doing anything -- I couldn't stand --"

"Not knowing if I was alive or not?" Blaine sighed. "Kurt, I think you would have known if I'd died."

The countertenor shook his head.

"Blaine, I --"

"Stop, just -- I can't do that Kurt. I can't think about it."

"Think about what?"

"You know what."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Blaine, I wouldn't have killed myself if you'd died. I'm not that dramatic." he said. "I don't even -- How can you even consider -- ?"

"You know that's not what I was thinking."

Silence fell again. Kurt distracted himself by adjusting Blaine's pillows, fiddling with his blanket. Anything to keep thoughts of the fact that he and Cooper could have been too late away.

"Kurt?"

"Mmm." the senior looked up at him to see that Blaine was crying. "Blaine don't --"

He attempted to bat Kurt's hand away as his boyfriend reached over to brush the tears away.

"She could have -- oh God, if she'd --"

Kurt stood, leaned over and gave Blaine a gentle kiss on the lips.

"I love you," he whispered when they broke apart. "It's alright, we're both safe, and your mom can't hurt us. She can't hurt Cooper, Blaine. It's okay."

"I love you too," Blaine whispered. Kurt laughed a little at the yawn that followed the statement. "Stay here?"

"I will," Kurt promised, sinking back into his chair as Blaine's eyes closed.

---

"Alright kiddo, that's the last of it." Cooper set a laundry basket filled with clothes and some detergent onto the newly made bed. Blaine scratched at his cast again, his expression unreadable. "What? Uniform not your style?"

Blaine looked down at the navy and red blazer and tie, dress slacks and white button down he was wearing.

"It's a uniform, Coop. Uniforms are never in style." he muttered.

Cooper smiled sadly at his little brother. He wasn't the same...probably never would be. The older brother could remember the nights when Blaine woke screaming in his bedroom, nightmares of Sadie Hawkins mixed with vivid fragments of things their mother had done.

It was beyond clear that Blaine could not go back to that high school. He would have to repeat his freshman year -- and their grandparents suggested Dalton Academy for Boys. Within a month the transfer papers were signed, his transcripts sent in, and he was officially a student at a private school that had a zero-tolerance harrassment policy against bullying.

The only downside was that he would have to board, and Cooper would no longer be at least thirty minutes away. His brother had rescheduled his flight and would be leaving the next morning.

Suddenly, without warning, Blaine threw himself into Cooper's arms, and he had to fight not to cry, because he knew that was exactly what his brother was doing and if he broke, Blaine wouldn't be okay.

"You're gonna be fine, Blainers." he said softly. "No idiots here. Nobody can hurt you."

"You don't know that," Blaine's breathing hitched. "Nobody listened or followed the rules in public school -- why should a private school be any different?"

"Hey. Listen to me, okay squirt?" Cooper tucked two fingers under the teen's chin and forced him to make eye contact. "It will be okay. You're gonna make some new friends, and hell, maybe find a boyfriend here."

Blaine went red in the face and pulled away.

"Coop!"

The brunette grinned and bumped his good shoulder playfully before pulling him back into a hug.

"Call me if you need anything. I mean that." he placed a quick kiss on the top of his little brother's dark curls, now much shorter and gelled back. "Or Grandma and Grandpa. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Also...could you try not to plaster your hair to your head?"

Blaine rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He smiled. "I love you, Cooper."

"I love you too Blainey."

"How is he?" asked Cooper.

Kurt stirred and rubbed at his eyes before looking over at Blaine. The other boy was still asleep.

"Asleep." he said. "How long was I out?"

"About an hour and a half. I've been checking in every so often." Cooper sighed. "but your dad wanted me to let you know that he and Carole are leaving -- I can give you a ride if you want to stay a little longer."

"No it's fine...Dad's not going to let me miss anymore school. Plus there's practice for our routine for graduation..." he trailed off, looking at Blaine sadly.

"He'll be there, Kurt." said Cooper. Then he grinned. "We both will. I promise to turn away any pleas for an autograph."

"He should be sitting with the seniors...with me." muttered the younger brunette. "and aside from the autographs -- or lackthereof -- oh come on!" his lips split into a smile at seeing Cooper's indignant expression. "Your commercial isn't that well known."

Cooper scowled.

"Well excuse me, Mr. I-have-my-boyfriend's-brother's-commercial-jingle-set-as-my-ringtone," he shot back. "You've just been denied one of my fabulous headshots with my signature attached."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I lost the ability to care about that a while ago." he said. "Plus, lest you forget I said I changed my ringtone."

"Oh. Right."

Silence. Kurt stood a few moments later and then Kurt stood. He squeezed Blaine's hand and kissed his cheek before nodding at Cooper and leaving.

---

Blaine felt like he was on fire.

He looked around, trying to get a bearing on his surroundings. He was back in the hotel room where his mother had taken him.

Pain exploded in his back and a scream burst from his lips. He tried to raise his arms to defend himself, but they were tied behind him.

"If he knows what's good for him he'll stay here and watch what happens when I'm told no!"

Blaine then saw Kurt in the corner of the room, frozen. He was crying.

"Kurt run!" he screamed. "Run now!"

"He can't, Blaine," said another voice.

His head jerked around to see Cooper standing there.

Oh God...

"Blaine wake up!" screamed Cooper. "It's okay, it's just a nightmare!"

Blaine was thrashing around in his bed, screaming at the top of his lungs. He'd ripped out his IV, and the wires that hooked him up to the other machines monitoring his vitals.

When the doctors and nurses ran in, Cooper was trying to keep Blaine from hurting himself further. The palm of his left hand, fastened around the wrist where the IV had been was wet with bright red blood. The sight and the smell of it made him want to vomit.

"Mr. Anderson, you're going to have to leave the room!" one of the nurses told him as she pushed him out of the room and into the hallway.

"My brother --" he croaked.

The woman gave him a pitying look.

"We'll do everything we can for him." she said gently. "He'll be alright. I promise."

He stared helplessly at the door of Blaine's room as she disappeared behind it.